


The Butterfly Effect | Ringo Starr

by TunaDiamond



Category: The Beatles (Band), Yesterday (2019)
Genre: Anal, Cunnilingus, F/M, Old Paul McCartney - Freeform, Ringo Starr is sexy, Sex, Smut, Time - Freeform, Time Jump, Time Travel, Young Paul McCartney
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-10 00:30:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 21,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20126401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TunaDiamond/pseuds/TunaDiamond
Summary: 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉, 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑜... 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 - 𝒾𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈.Ringo Starr is transported 56 years into the future and meets the girl of his dreams, Celeste Thornby.The two fall madly and deeply in love whilst they strive to find a way to send Ringo back to 1963 with the help of Paul McCartney, who may or may not have his own agenda.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on wattpad.com for more fanfictions - my username is the same.

** _ 7th July 1963 _ **

"Happy birthday dear Ringo... happy birthday to you!" There were three people singing to Ringo on his twenty-third birthday; Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison. They were his best friends, so he didn't mind too much that they were the only ones, though he wished that he had somebody to share the special day with him - somebody he could kiss good morning, love all day and then hold all night.

Ringo was lonely, though he didn't know it... or maybe he did.

"Make a wish, Rings!" Paul exclaimed as he pointed to the small fruitcake that John's aunt Mimi had made for the occasion.

Ringo smiled at the boys and blew out the candles, _I wish for my true love_.

They cheered as the last flame was extinguished, and clapped. "Wha'd you wish for, Rings?" John asked.

Ringo smiled at the rhythm guitarist. "If I told you that, then it wouldn't come true, would it?"

Paul chuckled. "Wishes never come true, Ringo."

"Not with that attitude, they don't." George said. "Come off it, Paulie - let Rings have his wish and stop pestering him -"

"It was John!" Paul pointed out indignantly, pointing at his best friend, who looked nothing short of offended.

"I would have covered for you, Macca!"  
"There's no covering for each other because there were witnesses!" Paul answered loudly. "Now take responsibility -"

George sighed and put the palm of his hand to his face, shaking his head a little as if he couldn't believe the idiocy that he had to deal with. "Just leave the poor guy alone."

John and Paul looked at each other for a few seconds before looking back to George and nodding in unison, agreeing to leave Ringo alone for the time being and to stop bothering him about his wish.

They spent the rest of the day getting ready for their show that would happen later that evening, at _The Cavern Club _in Liverpool. It was where they'd first began, and where they played regularly when they weren't on tour. Liverpool was their home, and that was where they were happiest - mostly.

John wanted to move to London with his wife, Cynthia, and their son, Julian. Paul wanted to go with them because John was his best friend, and George said that wherever John and Paul went, him and Ringo should be too.

Ringo wasn't sure what he thought of the move. He liked Liverpool. He had family there, and he'd never really left the city.

"Right, and that's it!" John declared, looking at the other Beatles, who were watching him as if he were the leader of their small clan. "We're all set - I'm going to see Cyn and Jules. I'll be back at eight." Their set began at nine. _Cutting it close_, Ringo thought, though he didn't dare voice his opinion to John, who could cut a man to the bone with just one sentence. In truth, John Lennon was scary at times.

"I'm off too, then." Paul declared. "I'm gonna go find me a girl for tonight." With a cheeky smirk, he left the room, quickly followed by John. The two of them seemed as though they couldn't get out of the room fast enough.

"I'm uh..." George trailed off, glancing at Ringo. "I'm gonna go too..." He left the room, and Ringo was alone. Again.

_So much for my birthday_, Ringo thought, _all I got was a measly cake, some presents, and then I had to do work to prepare for the show and I got abandoned by my so-called 'friends'. _Ringo was not in a very good mood with John, Paul and George.

He sometimes thought that Paul, George and John didn't regard him as a member of the band, or even as their close friend. It had been Paul, George and John before it was Paul, George, John and Ringo. Ringo had joined _The Beatles _last, and had been in the band for just eleven months. Sure, they were all close, but it felt as if they were on one side of a river, and Ringo was alone on the other.

Ringo sighed and settled down on a settee, picking up the book that Paul had bought him for his birthday, _The Scarlet Letter _by Nathaniel Hawthorne. He thought it sounded interesting, though he had no idea what Paul's reasoning had been to buy him such a book - it certainly wasn't something that he'd usually read.

Just a chapter in, Ringo felt his eyes grow heavy. He settled back into the settee and let his head loll against the arm of it, placing the book on his chest, still open on the page that he had been reading. He was asleep in a matter of seconds, his breathing steady and even.

**Hi! This is actually my first EVER author's note. I don't usually leave them because they get on my nerves when I'm reading fanfiction and someone else has left them, but I really need everybody who reads this to leave kudos and comment on the story. It'd mean the world. **  
**It feels amazing getting feedback, so please don't be afraid! As long as it's constructive, it's helpful!**  
**I try and reply in some form to all comments too!**


	2. Chapter 2

** _7th July 2019_ **

"_Must _we have a birthday party for somebody who doesn't even know that we exist?" The Thornby family had celebrated every Beatle member's birthday since their oldest child had been born, which was exactly twenty-two years ago that day. Celeste Thornby crossed her arms against her chest, her brown plaits brushing her bare shoulders as she moved. 

"This is your birthday party too, Dear," her mother replied.

Celeste looked around the room at the banners and decorations, all of them had three words written on them - _happy birthday Ringo!_

"Right..." Celeste trailed off. "What cake is it?" 

"Ringo's favourite, of course." _Of course it is_, Celeste thought. "Chocolate."

"Right." She sighed. "I don't like chocolate, mum... remember?"

"Oh," Michelle Thornby said as if it had only come to her attention that Celeste hated chocolate cake. She was the exact opposite to her oldest daughter; whereas Michelle was tall and willowy, Celeste was only 5 foot and 7 inches tall, and she was a little stockier than was considered beautiful by society. Celeste wore black clothes most days, with black eyeliner and a thick mascara - she wasn't 'emo', or even a goth. She just didn't think that she looked good when she wore colours - she was so self-conscious.

"Cheer up, Cel." Eleanor appeared beside her older sister, putting a hand on Celeste's back. Eleanor, however, looked identical to their mother, and had had all of the boys chasing her when they were at school. "It's Ringo's birthday!" There was only a year and three months between Celeste and Eleanor, so they were more like twins than just sisters. They were very close, and Eleanor had come back from her college in California to be with her sister on her twenty-second birthday.

Celeste groaned. "I am aware of who's birthday it is... maybe you should be, too!" Without another word, Celeste left the living room and out of the front door, wondering if she could find something to do that evening with her friend.

*** * * * ***

She walked down the London streets feeling miserable. It was as though her mother had forgotten that it was also her birthday today. She hadn't had a single text from any of her family members to wish her a happy birthday, she hadn't heard from her dad in almost three days, and her friend hadn't messaged her either.

_Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me - happy birthday dear Celeste... happy birthday to me_. She thought for a second of what she would wish for. Money? No, her family was already richer than most. A car? Nobody drove in London. 

_I wish for my true love_.

Celeste pulled out her phone and called her only friend, Edda. It went straight to voicemail, which was typical - Edda never answered her phone. She decided to leave a message, "hey, Edda," Celeste said, "it's Cel. Do you wanna go outtonight? It'd be to celebrate my birthday - which, by the way, I think you forgot -" She cut herself off. A man was lying in the middle of the pavement in a sharp-looking tweed suit. "I'm gonna have to call you back... let me know." She hung up and hurried over to the man, who appeared to be asleep.

_Strange_, Celeste thought, _nobody else seems to be interested in helping him... they probably think he's a drunk, or a drug addict_. Nevertheless, she knelt down beside him and gently shook him to see if he would wake up. _He looks so familiar_, she thought. _Have I seen him somewhere before?_

He came too, and looked directly at her. His eyes were the brightest blue she had ever seen, and his dark-brown hair looked so soft that she had to resist the urge to reach out and stroke it. "Bloody Hell." _That accent..._

"Sir?" Celeste said, unsure of how to address the man, "are you okay? Are you in any pain?"

The man nodded, sitting up slowly. "I'm alright, luv." He paused as he looked around. "Where am I?"  
"London... do you live round here?"  
"No." He answered. "I live in Liddypool." 

"Liddypool...?" Celeste echoed, unsure of what he meant.

"Liverpool."

"Oh." Celeste bit her lip. "You look awfully like somebody I know... or rather, I know of."

"Oh?" The man asked, cocking his head towards her inquisitively, "and who's that?"  
"Ringo Starr - drummer of _The Beatles_." The man looked like he had been slapped around the face. "I bet you must get that a lot, huh? You could be his twin -"

"I _am _Ringo Starr." Celeste looked him over once again. He had the nose, eyes and haircut for the part. He was wearing a suit just like all of _The Beatles _wore in their early days, and he had enough rings on his finger to weigh him down at sea. 

"Y-you can't be..." she trailed off, unsure of what else to say. She couldn't call him a liar - he might not be mentally stable, and might lash out at her... or he could be hurt, and might damage himself further. He had, afterall, been lying in the middle of the street.

"But I _am_." He sounded desperate.

"If you're Ringo Starr," Celeste said finally, "then you'd be seventy-nine now - how is it that you look like you're twenty-three?"

"Seventy-nine?" 'Ringo' echoed in disbelief. "What..? How...?"

"It's 2019 - are you in a tribute group? Because if you are, then I must say that you're good - you look identical to him. It's uncanny - it's quite odd, actually."

"No..." The man trailed off. "It's 1963. I have a show to play later at _The Cavern Club_. John and Paul and George will be waiting for me -"

"Ringo..." She looked at him, placing a hand on either of his shoulders to ground him to earth and to capture his attention. "You're in 2019. I wouldn't lie to you, okay? I can explain everything, but we have to get you off of the streets before someone notices you and starts asking questions." He hesitated for a second before nodding. Celeste helped him up and then looked into his eyes once more. "I'm Celeste." She held out her hand and he shook it. She led him over to a taxi rank and into the back of a car, giving the driver the name of a hotel which was about a mile from her house.


	3. Chapter 3

Celeste led Ringo over to the check-in desk. There was only one persons serving, but no guests, so they were seen to right away.

"Can I help you?" The staff member asked, flashing a fake smile at Celeste.

"My name is Celeste Thornby," Celeste said. "My father owns a suite here, and I would like to stay in it for the next few weeks." She was unsure of how to ask for the key to the suite, and assumed that she was doing it right.

"Have you got any ID?" Celeste nodded and dug around in the pocket of her jeans until she found her driver's license. She handed it to the woman behind the desk who looked at it for a second and then back to Celeste. "That will do, Miss." She handed the card back. "Will you be staying with anybody else?" She eyed Ringo wearily.

"My, um..." Celeste bit her lip, "my boyfriend." Ringo's eyes widened in surprise, but he didn't say anything.

The woman looked at Ringo for a few more seconds before nodding and getting the keys ready for them. She handed one to Ringo and one to Celeste and smiled. "Have a pleasant stay with us, Miss Thornby."

Celeste thanked the woman and took Ringo's hand, leading him over to the lifts and stepping inside. It was a five-star hotel, and Celeste was very proud of her family's wealth. "If you live just a mile down the road like you said," Ringo said in his Liverpool accent as he ran his free hand across the gilded decorations inside of the lift, "then why does your father own a suite here?"

"My father has a few women on the side, as well as my mum." She replied flippantly, "this is where he brings them to be alone with them."  
"Should I be worried about him?" Ringo asked as I led him out of the lift by his hand and pulled him over to the doors to the suite. I inserted the key and opened the door, gesturing for him to go inside.

"My dad?" Ringo nodded. "No," she answered. "He's away in Dubai at the moment on business."

Ringo didn't reply. He was too busy looking around the suite. "It's the _Piccadilly Suite_," Celeste told him. "The most expensive one to rent in London - or at least, it was until dad bought it last year."  
Ringo ran his hands over the towels in the bathroom and called out to her, "so you're a rich girl then?"

She was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, smiling at the strange man who she had always secretly admired and wanted to meet. Ringo Starr. "I suppose you could say that, yes."

Ringo nodded as he walked past her, through the lounge area and into the bedroom. "One bed...?" He raised an eyebrow. "Are you staying here too?"  
"I can't leave you here by yourself, Ringo." She answered. "You don't know the twenty-first century - you might do some damage to the future you."

"Future me?" Ringo raised an eyebrow at her. "What am I like in 2019?"  
Celeste bit her lip. "I don't know if it's such a good idea to tell you -"  
"Please?"

"It might do something to the future - for example, if you hear a song that your band hasn't written yet, then something might happen and it might not be written at all."

"That seems like a small problem -"

"Have you ever heard of _the butterfly effect_?"

"Is it a book?" Ringo asked. "A film?"

Celeste shook her head. "It's a theory - whatever you do affects everything else - for example, if your band doesn't write one song, then another band might not be inspired and therefore might not write a song of their own - or they might not even exist." She paused. "Or you might not meet somebody that will change your life, and it might affect you in some huge way."

"That's a very vague explanation." He said in reply. "I take it that I'm sleeping on the floor?"

"The settee next door looks comfortable, Ringo," Celeste answered. "I'll take it if you want -"  
"No, you sleep in the bed." He gestured to the comfortable queen-size mattress and covers. "Tell me what it's like, though - it looks like Heaven on Earth."  
She smiled at him. "I will... but we're not done yet - it's barely midday."

"Well I can't go out anywhere, can I?" He asked. "What're we going to do? Stare at each other all day?"

"No need to be rude, Ringo." Celeste walked back into the lounge and sat down, kicking her shoes off. She pulled her phone out and waited for Ringo to sit beside her on the sofa.  
"What's that?"

"A phone."

"A phone?" He echoed in disbelief. Celeste nodded. "But it's so _small_ -"

"Technology has moved on a lot in fifty years, Rings." She answered. "These things are like little computers."

"I don't believe you."

"Well you need some clothes, right?" He nodded. She opened the phone and connected to the hotel's wifi before she went onto the Hugo Boss website. "What do you like the look of?" She handed him the phone and showed him how to use it and how to add items to the cart. She got up and left him to shopping, going over to the mini fridge and taking out to two cans of coca-cola for them.

"What's this?"

"Coca-Cola."

"It looks different." Ringo eyed it suspiciously. "Another twenty-first century invention?" Celeste shrugged, unsure of the correct answer. She opened the can for him and watched as he took a sip. "It tastes different too."  
"Sugar tax." She shrugged. "A lot of companies have taken some sugar out of their drinks to avoid it, and Coca-Cola are one of them."

"It's terrible."

"Yes," she agreed, "I preferred it before, too." After another twenty minutes, Ringo handed her back her phone. Celeste took her credit card out of her pocket and entered her payment details, paying extra for next-day delivery to the hotel.

"What're we going to do now?" Ringo asked, looking at the clock and seeing that it was barely two o'clock in the afternoon.

Celeste stood up and walked over to the drawer which her father kept the packs of cards in. Yes, plural. Packs. "Are you any good at cards?" She held up a deck and Ringo grinned.

"I'm the best."

Celeste laughed as she sat on the floor opposite him. Ringo got off of the settee and sat down on the floor too. "Chase the ace, okay?" He nodded. She began to deal out the cards. "And for every time we lose a round, the other person gets to ask a question, yes?" Ringo nodded again.

**Please ** **leave kudos ** **and comment on as many ** **chapters** ** as ** **you** ** can! **   
**Get in touch too, hope ** **you're** **enjoying** ** the story!**


	4. Chapter 4

"I win!" Ringo exclaimed as he watched Celeste hold the ace up, the only card which was not in a pair in their deck. "I get to ask a question!"  
"Ask away," she said. "Anything, and I will answer."  
He thought for a second before asking, "what am I like in 2019?"

"I don't know you personally."

"I mean, am I still making music? Is the band still together? Do I have kids? A wife?"

"Ringo, that was about four questions -"

"Answer them for me, please." He begged, looking at her pleadingly.

Celeste sighed and gathered up their cards, shuffling the deck and beginning to redeal them. "I don't know if it is good for you to know too much about your own future -"  
"You promised!" He sounded like a whiny child.

I sighed. "Your wife is called Barbara. You have three children with your first wife. You're still touring and making music with your 'All-Starr Band' and no, _The Beatles _aren't still together."  
His face fell. "W-we're not..?"  
"No."

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know," I told him. "I only know that Paul was the one to officially break it off, blaming it on 'musical differences'."

"Do I still talk to the others?"

"Ringo, you've had way more than one question -"

"You've started me off now." He said. "You need to tell me - I have to know."  
"No. If you win the next round then -"  
"I'll just use your phone then." He took the phone from behind him where I had left it on the settee and pressed the home button. It had a passcode on it, luckily, but that didn't stop him from trying to open it. For somebody from another century, he caught onto technology remarkably quickly. 

"Ringo," Celeste said, causing him to look up and meet her blue eyes with his own. "It has a passcode - you won't open it."

He tried again and Celeste heard the phone vibrate. Ringo blushed and looked at her. "It, um... it says that it's locked for one minute." Celeste sighed and held out her hand for the phone. Gingerly, Ringo put the phone in the palm of the girl's hand. "Please tell me..."

She pocketed the phone in the back of her jeans and then sighed once more. "If I tell you, Ringo, then you have to promise not to freak out - the news is kind of... big."

"I can stay calm."

"No." Celeste said in a firm tone of voice. "It'll break you to hear it, Rings. Seriously - you need to stay calm, and keep your head."

Ringo nodded. "I promise. I won't freak out."  
She nodded and took a deep breath, preparing herself to deliver the news of John and George's deaths. "As far as I know, you and Paul still keep in touch."

"What about the others?" He asked. "John and George?"  
"John was killed in New York, Ringo. He was murdered by an assassin." Ringo was silent, though I could already see his eyes welling with tears.

"Oh my God..."

"And George died of lung cancer in November 2001." Now the tears began to fall, and Ringo suddenly felt extremely vulnerable. Nobody other than his mother had seen him cry, ever. It was quite frightening, and Ringo didn't like the feeling of being so open to another person, though he felt oddly at ease with Celeste, more so than he had done with any other girl he had ever met. Celeste wordlessly moved over to the two piles of cards and put her arms around Ringo, gently pushing his head to her shoulder where he layed, sobbing fitfully. "I know, I know," she cooed as if she were his mother, "I'm sorry."  
"W-when did John...?" 

"1980." She answered.

Ringo let out another fitful sob. "He was so young!" 

Celeste agreed, "it's no age to die."

"And to leave poor Julian!" Of course, Ringo knew Julian as a baby of four months old, but that still didn't stop him from crying - whether Julian was seventeen or seventy, nobody should have to lose a parent.

"John has another son too," Celeste said quietly. "He was only five."  
"Cynthia...?"

"No." She answered. "John and Cynthia divorce and he remarries - an artist called Yoko Ono."

Ringo was quiet, wiping away his tears, trying so desperately to get away from the sad news of his two friends' deaths. "S-sounds like a n-nutter -"

"She is." Celeste answered. "Do you want to talk more about it?" Ringo was silent for a minute. Celeste wondered if he had heard her. "...Ringo?"

"Can you change the future?" Ringo asked after a moment.

"I..." what could she say to that? She didn't know, of course, but she wanted so badly to save John Lennon, and even George Harrison - though she wasn't sure if either was possible. "I'm not sure."  
"I have to try."

"Do you even know _how _you got here?"  
"To the future?" Celeste nodded. He shook his head. "No."

"How do you know if you can get back, then?" She had a good point, but what could he say in reply?

"I don't." That was the truth, at least. "But I have to try - for John, and for George. For the fans, I s'pose." Celeste nodded in understanding. "You'll help me, won't you?"

"Get back to 1963?" Ringo nodded. Celeste thought he was adorable - he had always been her favourite Beatle. "Yes." She answered without hesitation. "Of course I will - but I have no idea where to start."

"You're telling me, that in 2019, time travel still hasn't been invented?"  
"Well it might be _invented_," she answered, "but nobody knows about it."  
"What's that s'pose to mean?"  
Celeste shrugged. "Some idiots in the world are planning to storm Area 51 and get access to all of the American Government's secrets -"  
"You think they have the answer to time travel?"  
She shook her head. "No." She paused. "And we should not try to break into Area 51 - we'd be shot."  
Ringo sighed. _There goes that plan_, he thought.

"Maybe we should start with what you were doing just before you got sent here?" She suggested, unsure of where else to start.

Ringo shrugged. "I was reading a book on a settee backstage at _The Cavern Club_, waiting for the show to start."

"What book were you reading?"

"_The Scarlet Letter_," he answered, "by Nathaniel Hawthorne."  
"I've read that one." She said. "It's good -"

"Paul got it for my birthday." Ringo explained. "I dunno why - it's not my usual reading material - prefer science fiction myself."  
"Happy birthday, Ringo." Celeste paused. "It's my birthday too."

"Well happy birthday, Celeste, then." He grinned. "What a coincidence."

Celeste nodded in agreement. _Yes_, she thought, _what a coincidence_.

_I wish for my true love_.


	5. Chapter 5

Ringo looked at Celeste and smiled. _Her eyes are the deepest blue - the makeup she is wearing makes them stand out. She's beautiful_. His thoughts were not as innocent as his face seemed to look. Celeste smiled back at him.

"What happened just before you were sent back?"

"Um," Ringo thought for a second, "I told you, didn't I? I was reading a book that Paul gave me for my birthday - _The Scarlet Letter_." She had, in truth, forgotten that he had told her that, though now he had brought it up again, she remembered the conversation.

"Anything else?"

"I was breathing." 

"Obviously, Rings." Celeste replied. "Don't try and be smart - it won't get us anywhere."

Ringo liked this strange girl from the future. He thought she was funny, kind and thoughtful - everything that he desired in a woman... but he didn't want to mess up the plan by flirting with her or falling for her - he couldn't have that.

_I wish for my true love_.

He shook the memory of his wish from his mind and smiled at Celeste again. "I was tired - maybe if I go to sleep again then I'll go back?"  
Celeste shook her head. "I seriously doubt that it is that easy - nothing ever is."  
Ringo sighed and nodded in agreement. "Maybe I have to read the book again?"

Celeste nodded and opened her phone which was now unlocked. She typed the idea into her notes app and looked at him. "Anything else?"  
"Maybe I should be tired? I don't know."

Ringo sighed. He was tired - it had been a long day for him, and a long day for Celeste too, apparently because she was yawning too. "We'll think about it tomorrow, I guess, and we'll try with the book - by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was it?" The drummer nodded. "We'll go and find a copy tomorrow. Are you hungry?" Once again, he nodded. Celeste stood up and went over to a pile of papers, pulling out a menu. She handed it to him. "Order whatever you want - the food here is exquisite."

"How would you know?" Ringo asked her. "I thought you said that your father took different birds here?"  
"Well I know that this suite exists, don't I?" She shrugged. "I followed him one day when I got curious about where he was spending his nights if he wasn't with us - he caught me, and begged me not to tell mum. I haven't... yet... but in return, he lets me stay here whenever I want to."

"A good bargain."  
Celeste nodded in agreement. "I'm not overly fond of my mother, so keeping one more secret from her isn't a problem."  
"What's between you and your mum?" Ringo asked.

Celeste shrugged again. "She doesn't notice me - only my perfect sister, Eleanor, and you guys -"

"_Us_?" Ringo asked in disbelief, as if he couldn't fathom somebody _possibly _liking _The Beatles _fifty years in the future.

Celeste nodded. "Ringo, _The Beatles _make history - you all revolutionise music - and people still listen to your songs today. My family are super-fans, I suppose. They celebrate your birthdays more than their own... in fact, mum was throwing a birthday party for you today - no mention of it also being my birthday."  
"That's shit, luv." He said. "Though I'm flattered -"

She swatted his arm, laughing. Ringo was laughing too. Neither of them had ever felt more at ease than they did in that moment. They were happy, and it didn't matter that there was fifty years between them.

They ordered room service, and when the food arrived they both agreed - it was exquisite. Ringo had never tasted such wonderful food, though if Celeste said was true, then he would later in the 1960s when the band became more popular and could afford to live in style. He hoped that what she had told him was true. It had always been his dream to be in a successful band, and apparently, he would one day achieve it.

"I'm tired," Celeste told him as they finished what was quite probably their fifteenth round of cards, "I'm going to bed, Rings."

"Okay." He said. "Do you have something to sleep in?"

"I think my dad leaves clothes here sometimes because he can't always get his own clothes out of the house." She replied. "Do you need anything?"  
He shook his head. "I'll sleep in my undies, luv."

Celeste smiled at him and nodded. "Night then, Ringo."  
"Night, Celeste." She left the room, closing the bedroom door behind her, leaving Ringo in his own company. 

It was a cold night despite it being early July, and Ringo was not comfortable on the sofa, despite Celeste's earlier observation, 'the settee in the other room looks comfortable'. He had lost his shirt somewhere and didn't want to get up and look for it because he was already half-asleep and didn't want to break that.

He didn't know what to do - should he stay on the settee and freeze to death and lose more sleep, or should he go and ask Celeste if she knew where her father kept the spare blankets. _Spare blankets_, he thought. That was what he would do.

Ringo threw the single blanket that he had been sleeping with over the back of the sofa and stood up, readjusting his underpants so that they hung lower on his legs, covering more of his lower body. He took a deep breath and went into Celeste's room.

"Cel?" He whispered, not wanting to awaken her rudely, but needing her to wake up all the same. "Celeste?"

She sat bolt upright. It was a little frightening. Ringo took a step back. "What? Huh...?" She laid eyes on Ringo and smiled softly at him, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh, Rings... it's you." She paused. "Is something wrong?"  
He bit his lip. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to wake her up - she had looked so peaceful whilst she was sleeping. "Um, no -"

"Are you uncomfortable on the settee?"

"A little." He admitted. "It's cold - do you know where your father keeps the spare blankets?"  
Celeste thought for a second before she replied, "I don't think he _has _any spare blankets, Rings. I'm sorry that you're uncomfortable and not sleeping very well - why don't you get in here with me?" 

She gestured to the empty side of the bed beside her. Ringo swallowed. "I-in the b-bed?" She nodded. "W-with you?"

"That's what I said, wasn't it?" Celeste teased.

Ringo didn't want to freak her out and risk losing her help in his quest to find a way back to 1963, so he nodded. He didn't want to make the situation awkward. "Yes, okay." He answered. "Do you want me to go and find my shirt...?"  
She shook her head. "No, don't be silly." She eyed him up and down quickly, hoping that he hadn't noticed. "Body heat and all that, right?"  
Ringo chuckled nervously. "Uh huh... yeah... sure." She was beautiful, there was no denying that. Ringo was very quickly becoming fond of her. Celeste pulled back one side of the duvet and gestured again to the empty area beside her. Smiling, Ringo went and got into bed beside her.

"Goodnight Ringo Starr."  
"Goodnight Celeste Thornby." He remembered her name from when she had spoken to the receptionist earlier. "Sweet dreams, Lissie."

"Lissie?" She asked in a sleepy tone of voice, batting her eyelids in an attempt to relieve the weight that was currently weighing them down.

"My name for you."

"Then I must have one for you." She decided, speaking quietly. "What do they call you back in 1963?"

Whilst she liked _The Beatles_, she wasn't as obsessed with them as the rest of her family was, so she didn't know every aspect of their personal lives - including their nicknames. "Ringo and Rings, mostly."

Celeste thought for a second before asking, "does anybody call you Ritchie?" He thought for a second and then shook his head. Celeste could tell what his answer was by the way the pillows moved under his weight. "Then you shall be my Ritchie -"

"_Your _Ritchie?" Ringo teased.

"Shut it, Ritchie." She laughed as she slapped his arm playfully, which was slightly hard to do because he was lying behind her.

"Night, Lissie."

"Night, Ritchie."

**Honestly I'm already shipping Celingo so hard lol! **   
**Remember to leave kudos and comment!**


	6. Chapter 6

Celeste breathed out a sigh of content as she felt the morning sun on her face, not one bit regretful that she had forgotten to close the curtains the previous night. As Celeste became more awake, she became aware of somebody's arms around her. _Ringo_, she thought. A smile crept across her face and hung there. _Ringo_. His arms were around her, he was breathing on her neck, and every breath sent a shiver down her spine. Being close to him was heavenly, though Celeste almost didn't want to admit it.

She didn't want to get hurt when Ringo inevitably went back to 1963, leaving her in the present, alone.

Ringo moved in his sleep and Celeste let out a sharp gasp as she felt something hard poking her in the small of her back. _Do I wake him up and risk making it awkward between us? Or do I pretend I'm asleep and subtly wake him up?_

She decided on the latter. Celeste shut her eyes again and reached up, wrapping Ringo's arms more tightly around her middle. He smelled so damn _good_. She wriggled back against him, being careful to avoid brushing her ass against him. Ringo moaned out as if he were in pain, and then he let out a loud gasp.

"W-what?" He muttered in a sleepy tone. He still wasn't completely awake, it was adorable. Then he must have realised he had morning wood because he groaned out and threw the duvet back, carefully untangling his limbs from Celeste's before getting out of the bed and padding quietly across the room and to the bathroom.

Once Celeste had heard him leave, she got up too and made herself presentable - she brushed her hair, washed her face using wet wipes and picked out her clothes for that day, grateful that she usually left spare clothes in the suite. When she had dragged out getting ready for as long as she could, Celeste made her way to the bathroom. The shower was running, that much was clear from the sound of running water. There was another sound too, though it was definitely less pronounced - it was Ringo's voice, but it didn't sound normal.

"_Ah, fuck_." Celeste held her breath in surprise. Ringo was _moaning_. She clenched her thighs closer together as she felt herself begin to throb. The thought of Ringo in there, _naked_, with his hand on his cock was enough to make Celeste's knees weak. She had been about to knock, but was glad that she had hesitated. Celeste was startled from her thoughts by another moan, and then Ringo was silent. Celeste guessed that he had climaxed. She waited a few seconds, cleared her throat and knocked on the door.

"Rings?" After a second, the bathroom door opened and Ringo opened it, a towel hanging low on his lips showing off his chest and v-line. _Ringo Starr had a v-line? _That hadn't been in the musical history books. "Um, sorry to interrupt, I -"  
"It's fine," he answered, "I was done anyway - what're we doing today?" She slipped into the bathroom beside him and made a mental note to open one of the windows in order to eliminate the steam which had built up whilst Ringo had been in the shower.

"Finding a copy of the book, remember?" He nodded in reply. "I was thinking we could start with WHSmith or something - they'll almost definitely have it in there. We'll also look in any secondhand shops we pass, and then if all else fails, we'll look online and have it ordered with next-day delivery -"  
"_Next-day_?" He echoed in disbelief. Celeste was about to reply with sarcasm, but quickly remembered that Ringo wasn't from the twenty-first century and so wasn't familiar with Amazon and their one-day shipping policy.

"Yeah." She answered. "On this website called 'Amazon', if you order something before a certain time, you can pay extra for next-day delivery - it arrives at some point the next day."  
"That's gear!" Celeste giggled at his choice of words. Ringo blushed. "Why're you laughing?" He sounded hurt.  
"Nothing." She answered quickly, feeling guilty for making him feel self-conscious. "It's just... well, nobody says 'gear' anymore, Ritchie. We say 'cool' or 'fly'." She shrugged. "There are other words, of course, but -"

"Do I have to learn twenty-first century lingo?"  
"As long as you don't say 'lingo' again, I think you'll be fine." They laughed and Ringo's blush began to fade. 

Celeste suddenly remembered that he was only in a towel, and she blushed a beetroot red. "Go put some clothes on!"  
"I don't have anything to wear until the clothes are delivered -"  
"There's some of my dad's shirts in the wardrobe - find one and then wear your trousers from yesterday, too." Ringo nodded and went to the bedroom in search of clothes.

Celeste decided to shower. She stripped herself of her bed clothes and then got into the shower, pulling the shower curtain across so she wouldn't flood the bathroom. Celeste turned the water on and instantly relaxed - Ringo apparently liked the temperature the same as she did. SHe was liking him more and more as she learned every new thing about him. 

_I wish for my true love_.

The words that she had thought the previous day kept coming back to her, and she couldn't help but wonder what Ringo had wished for for his birthday back in 1963.

_I wish for my true love_.

Absentmindedly, Celeste reached around the shower curtain for a towel. After a moment searching, she peaked out - there was none there. She sighed. Short of walking to the bedroom naked, she had only one option. "Ringo!" She called out. He didn't answer. "Ringo!" She called out to him more loudly this time.

After a second, he could be heard outside the bathroom door. "Is something wrong, Lissie?"  
"You used the towel, Ritchie!" She exclaimed, "do you think you could fetch me another one? They're in the linen closet by the door, I think."

Ringo went to fulfil her wish, quickly bringing back a towel. He knocked. "Shall I bring it in for you?"

"If you don't mind." He opened the door slowly and crept inside, feeling like he shouldn't be in the bathroom at the same time that Celeste was in the shower - but she had asked him to, hadn't she?  
"I've got it here..." he trailed off. Celeste stuck her hand around the shower curtain again. Ringo took another step forward and put it into her outstretched palm, curious if any of her was on display.

_Ringo, stop! _He shouted at himself. _Don't betray her privacy like that! She obviously trusts you, or she wouldn't have asked you to come in here! _His head, he knew, spoke sense, but his dick was saying something completely different.

He chose to follow his head. "I'll um... call for room service?" She thanked him. "Tea? Coffee?"  
"Tea, please." Celeste answered. "And ask for some toast and jam, too."

"Sure." Ringo replied and left the room, making sure to close the bathroom door behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

Ringo looked her up and down as she stepped out of the bedroom, dry from her shower and in her clothes for that day. Celeste looked at him. "What?"

He shook his head quickly as if he were shaking the thought of her from him. _Damn_, he thought, _she looks really nice in those jeans_. "N-nothing," he stuttered, feeling a slight brush creep into his cheeks, "I just think you l-look nice."

"_Really_?"  
He nodded earnestly. "Don't sound so surprised, Lissie - you're beautiful." Now it was her turn to blush.

Celeste very rarely received compliments from boys, so she didn't know how to deal with Ringo's words. "Come off it, Rings," she said in a teasing tone. "You're just being nice to me."

"I'm _not_!" He answered in an offended tone of voice. "I always tell the truth - unless it will hurt somebody else's feelings - but I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think it was true."  
The silence between them that followed wasn't awkward, but neither of them knew what to say, and whether or not to continue the conversation or to change the subject. After a minute of silence, Celeste said, "let's um... get going, yeah?"

Thankful that she had broken the silence, Ringo nodded and followed her out of the suite.

*** * * * ***

It had not been a productive day, to say the least - Ringo and Celeste had been unable to find a copy of _The Scarlet Letter _by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and then Ringo had lost his favourite ring on the underground, which he was quite miffed at.

"This is pointless," Celeste declared after they had been searching for almost four hours and had skipped lunch in order to make the best of their time. Ringo sighed and nodded in agreement. We need to go and rethink where else we can buy this book - maybe we can order it online."

"Online?"  
"It's like a giant encyclopedia - but you can do anything and everything on it as well."

"Wow." It amazed her how he saw such wonder in the small things that she took for granted. Ringo Starr was something else entirely, and it was only just starting to dawn on Celeste how fond she would grow of him in their time together.

"You fancy going for some coffee?" He nodded eagerly and she smiled. "Follow me, then - _Starbucks _is the best, and there's one on virtually every street corner." Ringo nodded and followed her down the busy street, falling into step beside her very quickly, the two of them chatting comfortably and amicably about everything and nothing at the same time. 

Celeste ordered for them both; a mocha latte each, and gestured to the table where she and Ringo were sitting, which was in the corner, away from curious eyes. The barista said that he would bring the drinks over, and Celeste thanked him as she went to sit back down beside the Beatle.

"I can't believe we didn't find the book."

"Not one copy anywhere." She agreed. "Like magic."

"_Magic_?"

"Ringo," Celeste said in a reasonable tone, "we spent hours looking in every bookshop and charity shop that we saw - we did not find one single copy of a rather famous book. Isn't that a little odd to you?"

He shrugged and looked at the barista, who was standing beside them with the two drinks. "Uh... sorry to interrupt... Ringo?"

"I'm trying to get him into character." Celeste answered quickly. The barista looked at her. "He's in a tribute band, but is struggling to truly _become _the man, y'know?" The barista nodded and put the drinks down.

"Well anyway, man," he said, "you look great - a really good job."

Ringo thanked him and the barista left. Celeste let out a sigh of relief. "We've got to be more careful - I'm going to start calling you Ritchie when we go out, okay?" He nodded.

"As long as I get to call you Lissie?"  
She smiled at him, and his heart skipped a beat. She truly was beautiful, but she just didn't know _how _beautiful. He wanted to be the one to tell her, to show her... he wanted to be the one to change how she looked upon herself.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Celeste got her phone out of her pocket and went straight onto eBay, trying to find a copy of _The Scarlet Letter_. After a minute of searching, she showed her phone to Ringo, who looked confused. "It's like a giant auction." She explained.

"Oh. I see."

"Not one copy of the book on there either."  
"Didn't you say something earlier about the rainforest?" Ringo asked.

"The rainforest?" She echoed in confusion. "What do you... _oh_." _Amazon, of course_. "Yeah, I'll have a look now - and Amazon isn't the rainforest in this case... it's like the name of a market, okay? It's just a _coincidence_."

"I see." Ringo repeated.

Celeste was dumbstruck. Amazon said that no copies or editions of the book were available, even on Kindle. "No way." 

"Not on there either?" She shook her head in reply.

"It's as if the world doesn't want you to go back, Ritchie." Celeste sighed. "If it isn't on Amazon and eBay then we have to wait until we see it in shops somewhere."  
"Do you not know anybody who would have a copy?" It was a reasonable enough question, but even so, Celeste shook her head. 

"I don't know anybody who would read something like that, no."  
"So we're buggered then?" It was an odd word, _buggered_, but Celeste liked it - especially the way that Ringo said it.

"Yes," she agreed. "We're well and truly _buggered_."

**Please take the time to leave kudos and comment! **   
**What do you think of our duo?**


	8. Chapter 8

They searched some more in bookshops with later closing times before finally giving up. There was no way that they were going to find a copy of that book anytime soon. If they couldn't find it in London, then they couldn't find it anywhere. Ringo didn't seem particularly fazed, however. On the contrary, he seemed to be enjoying his time in the twenty-first century, and acting as though he had no interest in going back to his own time.

"Fancy a game of cards?" It was the first thing she said to him when they walked through the revolving doors of _The Ritz. _Ringo looked at her and shrugged.  
"What're we playing?"

"Poker?" Ringo's face lit up and Celeste grinned. Whenever he smiled, his face changed - his eyes glimmered and his nose scrunched up - it was truly adorable, and it made her find him even more attractive than she already did... though she didn't want to admit it.

"It's no fun if we don't play with bets." He answered. "And I don't have any 2019 money to play with -"

"What about Monopoly bills?"

"_Monopoly_?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There's Monopoly in 1963, isn't there?" Celeste asked, unable to comprehend the thought of a world where Monopoly didn't exist.

Ringo nodded. "O' course."

"Then we'll play with Monopoly money in place of real bills... and whoever has the least at the end will have to do a forfeit, chosen by the other person."  
"A _forfeit_?" He raised an eyebrow, an idea already forming in his mind.

"Yes."

"Like what?"  
"Whatever you want." She opened the door of their suite and smiled at him.

"And if I want you to kiss me?"  
Celeste stopped in her tracks and turned to him. "Stop it, Ringo." She spoke in such a firm tone of voice that it made him want to do as she was telling him to. He did.

An hour later, Ringo had one, and knew what he wanted her forfeit to be. "I'm done." He said, shocking Celeste out of her Poker mindset.

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "And who said that you could just quit?"  
"I did." Ringo grinned as if he had a dirty plan formulating in his mind. "And you've got the least amount. In forfeit, I want to remind you that we did not celebrate our birthday."

Celeste looked confused. "We met each other... isn't that enough?"

"But it was our _birthday_." Ringo said in reply. "We should have done something..." he thought for a second before asking, "do people still go to nightclubs and bars in 2019?" Celeste nodded. "Then let's go -"  
"But we haven't got anything to wear."

Ringo stood up, putting his cards down and holding out a hand to the beautiful girl that he was slowly falling for, more and more each day. "We'll buy some things on the way."

Celeste knew that she was going out of her comfort zone by agreeing to go with Ringo out to a bar or nightclub. She didn't like being in social situations surrounded by strangers, or even people that she had a good relationship with. She liked to plan what was going to happen - she wasn't spontaneous, and she most certainly did not decide to go out to a nightclub or bar on a whim.

_"Why can't you be more like Eleanor, Cel?" _The voice was that of her mother, who was always pestering her to be more impulsive and adventurous. 

Nodding, Celeste took a deep breath and then closed her eyes for a second. "Okay, Ritchie... let's go." She took his hand and he pulled her up. Celeste opened her eyes and was greeted with his wide smile, once again brightening up his whole face.

"I can't wait to have the most beautiful girl in the entire room on my arm -"  
"Stop it, Ringo!" Celeste exclaimed in mock-distaste - she secretly liked the attention and compliments that he was showering her with.


	9. Chapter 9

"You look nice." Ringo reassured Celeste as they walked into the bar, immediately being enveloped in body heat as soon as the door closed behind them.

"I look like a tramp." She looked down at her outfit, which was something that she had bought and changed into on the way to the bar. Ringo, meanwhile, had come in his Hugo Boss jeans and polo shirt.

"You look beautiful." He reassured her. "Any guy would be mad not to look at you." She smiled a little at his compliment, though tried to ignore the fact that Ringo had called her beautiful... _again_. Secretly, she didn't mind. Ringo was something else entirely, and though Celeste didn't want to admit it yet, she was fond of him... more so than was probably sensible after just two days. "Drink?" Celeste nodded. "Anything in particular?"

"Whatever you're having." She paused. "Want me to come with you?" Ringo nodded and offered out his arm, acting like a true gentleman. Smiling, Celeste took his outstretched limb and he led her over to the bar at the back of the room.

"Two large glasses of the finest red wine you have." Ringo told the bartender. The bartender nodded and went to fulfil the order. Ringo turned to Celeste, "that's okay?"

Celeste nodded. She was technically paying for the order, since he had no money from the twenty-first century, but she was letting him use her credit card so that he felt as though he had some of his own funds.

"I'm just going to take a leak, luv." Ringo told her. "Will you be okay here, waiting for the drinks?" Celeste nodded again. Ringo swiped her credit card in the card machine and then made a dash for the toilets.

Celeste leant against the bar, waiting for the drinks. She felt somebody appear at her side and turned to him, a smile on her face. She thought it was Ringo, but she was wrong. "Hello...?"

"Hello, gorgeous." The man's breath reeked of alcohol, and his teeth appeared yellow in the dim light. He looked at least fifteen years older than her, with wrinkles and greying hair. "Want a drink?"  
"I've got one, thank you."

"I'll pay for it -"

"Please don't." Celeste paused. "I'm here with somebody."

"A friend?" The man raised an eyebrow, "two is always better than one."  
"No, I -"  
"I'm Craig." He smirked, leaning a little closer to her. "And you're beautiful."

There was that word again. The one that Ringo used to describe her.

"Well t-thank you, I -" Celeste was cut off by Craig's action - he reached around her and grabbed at her ass, pinching it harshly which caused her to shriek, though nobody around heard her because the music playing was too loud.

"Get the fuck off o' her!" Ringo was beside Celeste instantly and was pushing her behind him. He glared at the man. "What makes you think you can go round assaulting women like that, huh!?"  
"She was here 'lone, weren't she?"

Ringo spat at Craig, and that caused him to lunge at Ringo, trying to get a good punch in... but Ringo was faster - his fist collided with the man's face which caused him to cry out in pain, and the blood began to flow immediately. The bartender hadn't served them their drinks yet, and Celeste really wished that he had - he'd be able to break up the fight, surely?

"Ringo!" She exclaimed in horror when she saw Craig land a punch directly onto Ringo's nose, and it went out of shape. Celeste was certain that the bone was broken.

The bartender intervened, appearing in front of the bar and the two men, pulling them apart and glaring at Craig, who had very clearly come off worse - Ringo was apparently a good bar-brawler. 

"I think you should go." The bartender said to Craig, who scowled but didn't reply. Instead, he turned and skulked away, holding a hand to his nose.

Celeste turned to Ringo. "Is your nose broken?" She asked him. Ringo shrugged and put a hand to it in order to check the damage.

"Nah," he answered, "just out of place." Ringo looked directly at her as he reset his nose. He squinted in pain and let out a single, "fuck."

"Will it set properly now?"

Ringo nodded. "Should do."

"Let me get your drinks for you." The bartender went to get their wine. They waited, took their drinks, and then went to find a table to sit at for the rest of the night.

*** * * * ***

Hours passed, and the bartender kept their glasses full. 

"You have the most beautiful eyes," Ringo said as he leaned closer to her. They had drunk four or five large glasses of wine each, and were starting to feel the consequences. "The brightest blue, the deepest orbs of heart and soul I have ever seen."  
Celeste beamed at him. She was a flirt when she was drunk, and apparently Ringo was too. "Your eyes fascinate me," she replied. "They pull me in and make me want to..." there was no end to her sentence for she had pressed her lips against Ringo's, and they were kissing.

After what felt like an eternity of bliss, Ringo pulled away. "Can we take this back to the hotel?" Immediately, Celeste nodded and stood up, letting Ringo lead her out of the bar and over to an awaiting taxi in a taxi rank.

The taxi was cool, and the plastic-covered leather seats smelt of tobacco and mint, though neither Celeste nor Ringo noticed this because they were too wrapped up in each other. He had wrapped her arms around him, and she was moaning as his fingers traced at the bare skin at her back, visible in the dress that she had bought earlier. Her mind was blank save for one word - _Ringo_. They continued kissing in this way until the taxi pulled to a final stop and the driver turned around in his seat to look at the two of them.

"_The Ritz_." He announced. "That'll be -"

"Oh my _God_." Celeste looked at Ringo in horror. Perhaps the kisses had sobered her up a little, or perhaps she had simply realised what she had been doing. "Ringo, I'm so sorry, I..." she trailed off and bit her lip, "no."

Ringo was confused, to say the least. He was silent and didn't move, not even when Celeste got out of the car and hurried into the hotel, not bothering to look back at the car and the hurt man that she had left behind her.

**Oh my gosh, finally some Celingo action... or not ;)**   
**Please leave kudos and comment!**


	10. Chapter 10

Ringo didn't see Celeste again that night. If he hadn't heard her moving around in the bedroom, he might have thought that she'd left him alone in the suite.

He got changed into his pyjamas and then layed down on the settee, groaning quietly as he remembered how uncomfortable it had been the first night. He didn't dare ask Celeste if he could share the bed with her; he didn't want to overstep any boundaries which had now silently been put into place.

Ringo felt alone. Loneliness was a feeling which he was familiar with, and which didn't usually bother him... but with Celeste so close by, and yet on the other side of his world, Ringo Starr went to sleep feeling heartbroken.

Celeste was a lot more sober than she had been when she'd left the club with Ringo. She'd drunk some water, and managed to eat a sandwich which she had bought from the bar of the hotel on her way upstairs. There was so much that had gone on that day and it was all so important, but her mind settled on one thing.

_Ringo._

She wasn't sure why she felt so guilty. Celeste wasn't sure why she felt so alone. She had, afterall, not wanted him, right? She was so unsure. Celeste found Ringo attractive, sure - you'd have to be blind to _not_. Ringo Starr was an amazing drummer, and he would make history along with the rest of _The Beatles_. Was that what fascinated her?

_No, I'm not a gold digger_, Celeste shook her head in disdain. _I'm just confused_. As she drifted off to sleep, all that she could think about was Ringo, asleep on the settee in the lounge, probably freezing once again whilst she was in a big bed all alone.

She wanted him.

*** * * * ***

Ringo's back hurt and his neck cracked as he moved it for the first time when he woke up the following morning. His first thought, naturally, was of Celeste, and then his next thoughts were his memories of what had happened the night before.

He wanted to make it up to her. He wanted everything to go back to the way it was before they'd gone out - no, even just before they'd gotten to the bar. Everything after that had gone south. Ringo went over to the phone and rung down to reception to order room service; a cup of tea for Celeste, a cup of coffee for himself and two full English breakfasts with toast, and butter. As an afterthought, he also ordered up two glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Waiting for the breakfasts to arrive, Ringo moved around the suite silently, not wanting to disturb Celeste. He wanted to surprise her, and make her smile. He wanted to see her relax the way she had the previous night in his arms.

Immediately, Ringo stopped his thoughts and chided himself. _Stop thinking about that! Last night didn't happen - if you want everything to go back to how it was, then you need to forget about it_.

But it was so hard. Everything in the suite smelt of her sweet perfume already, and everywhere he looked he was reminded of her.

Finally his order arrived and he thanked the waiter who had brought it up. Ringo wheeled the small table of food over to the door of the bedroom and knocked on it quietly, hoping that he wouldn't wake Celeste up... when she didn't reply, he knocked louder. Still there was no response to the sound of his knuckles against the wood, so he twisted the door handle and pushed the door open, silently thanking the hotel caretaker that the hinges didn't creak.

Celeste was still asleep in the bed, looking as angelic as ever. He went over to the side of the bed that he had slept on and hesitantly sat on the bed beside her. "Lissie...?" She stirred, thank God, and opened her eyes.

"R-Rings?" She looked at him for a moment longer before continuing, "you didn't sleep in here, did you?"  
"No." Ringo replied. "I didn't. I thought I'd give you some space -"  
She wrapped her arms around his middle tightly. "Whatever you think I was mad about, I want you to know that I'm not mad - I want us to go back to how we were before, okay?"

There was no description of the previous night's events. Ringo nodded, knowing of course what she was referring to. "O' course." He said. "I ordered breakfast, hope you don't mind - a full English for us both, a cup o' coffee for me, and a tea for you." He stood up and pushed the table closer to Celeste's side, handing her the tray of food which was for her. She thanked him and began to eat, laughing as Ringo began to explain about the time that Paul McCartney and John Lennon had been play fighting. John had accidentally _really _hit Paul, and Paul had ended up with a black eye, which was _not '_good for their image', according to their manager, Brian Epstein. 

Celeste had the most beautiful laugh, and Ringo did everything in his power to make sure that he heard it often. In response to his story, he was treated to a round of her giggles, and it made him smile even more. He was so happy with Celeste; although he had only known her for a few days, he couldn't imagine a life without her.


	11. Chapter 11

As the days went on, Ringo and Celeste fell more in love with each other. There was nothing strictly _there _between them, though they both flirted a lot more than they probably would with their other friends, or in Celeste's case, _friend_.

Ringo was back in her bed, though they always wore clothes and often made sure to keep their distance... though it was not always possible... they seemed to be drawn to each other like magnets.

Ringo and Celeste also hadn't had any more luck finding a way to send Ringo back in time. They had tried many different things, and none of them had been successful. Ringo was starting to lose hope... would he ever make it back to 1963? Back to his band and friends? His mum? In truth, they had all but given up at that point. They'd been trying for nigh on three weeks, and they were fresh out of ideas.

"Go fish." Celeste said as she gestured to the pile of cards between them. Ringo sighed and picked up a card.

"I don't know how you're so good at this game -"

"I've been playing it since I was a little girl, Ritchie." Celeste answered. "Have you got the ace of spades?"

"Yes." He handed the card to her. "Four of diamonds?"

Celeste looked through her cards and then shook her head. "Go fish."

"Any ideas?" Ringo asked as he took yet another card.

"I'm not telling you what books I'm trying to gather -"

"Not the game, Lissie." He answered. "On how to get back... because I'm fresh out."  
She sighed and shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know, Rings. We've tried everything that we've come up with, and then some. My mind is blank. I don't know what else we can try, or what might even work."

He sighed. She asked him for a card and he shook his head. "Go fish."  
"What do you think they're doing now?"  
"Who?"  
"Paul, John and George." She answered.

"John and George are dead, aren't they...?" Ringo trailed off in confusion. 

"I wasn't talking about _today_. I meant in 1963 -"

Ringo cut her off. He had had an idea. "What if we went to Paul and asked him to help?"

"Went to Paul..." she trailed off. "_McCartney_?" Ringo nodded. "I don't know him personally, and he's hard to get a hold of."  
"There must be some way."  
"He's one of the richest men in the country, Rings." Celeste told him. "I doubt we could get a hold of him at all."  
"Maybe if we met him somewhere."  
"And how would we do that?"

Ringo thought for a second and then asked, "do you know if he'll be in London anytime soon?"  
"He lives in London, Rings. He's probably around somewhere -"

"Any scheduled appearances?" Celeste took her phone from her pocket and quickly googled Paul McCartney's upcoming public appearances.

"The _Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts _graduation ceremony on July 26th."

"We have to wait until _then_?" Ringo whined petulantly. Celeste nodded. 

"He's a musician, Ringo, and a famous one at that - we're lucky his scheduled appearances were online at all."

Once again, Ringo sighed. "Okay - we'll have to do that, then."

**Please leave kudos and comment!**


	12. Chapter 12

More time went by, and still Celeste and Ringo grew closer. They became more at ease with one another, and more comfortable in the other's presence. It did not matter to either of them that they were fifty years apart; they felt as though they were one.

"Cel!" Ringo was calling her from the living room. 

Celeste had been in the bedroom lying down with her most recent purchase, a copy of  _ Little Women  _ by Louisa May Alcott. She sighed and got up, closing the book carefully since it was in poor condition.

"What?" She was tired, not grouchy. 

"I found this!" Ringo held up a bottle of  _ Jack Daniels _ . "Want some?!"

"That's from my dad's liquor cabinet, isn't it?" He nodded. "I'm not really in the mood to drink, Rings, I -"

"Just one?"

"I'm tired."

"And this will help you sleep," he promised, finding two glasses and pouring the drink into both of them. "Just one, I promise." Celeste knew that he would not let her rest until she had done as he had asked, so she sighed and went over to the coffee table, sitting opposite him. Ringo pushed a glass towards her and she picked up the drink, eyeing it wearily. She had never been a big drinker. "To time." Ringo held up his glass.

"To time." Celeste agreed, clinking her glass against Ringo's and then taking a sip. The drink was foul - why did people drink, again?

Nevertheless, she finished the glass and put it down on the table. "Have another!"

"Ringo, I had one, I -"

"You only live once, Cel," Ringo answered. "And besides, how many girls in the world are able to say that they've drunk with Ringo Starr?"

"You're cocky tonight." She teased, smiling a little.

"I'm trying to help you unwind, luv."

"Getting me drunk will not help me to 'unwind', as you so carefully put it." Celeste replied in an annoyed, tired tone of voice.

"I'll be the judge of that." He poured her another drink, "drink up, Lissie."

They drank until they were both blurs in each other's vision, and until they could not stand up straight. "You know what I think?" Celeste giggled as she took another sip from her glass.

Inquisitively, Ringo cocked his head at her. "Wha's that?"

She giggled again before answering. "I think you're good looking -"

"Yeah?" She nodded. "I think you're good looking, too -"

Celeste's eyes flickered down to gaze at his lips which looked so soft and plump. She was having a fight with herself -  _ should I kiss him?  _ In her drunken state, she thought that the answer was yes.

Celeste's lips were against Ringo's in a second, and he was kissing back with as much zeal as she was showing. His arms went around her, one hand resting on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. Ringo's heart skipped a beat as Celeste move from her position to straddle him, deepening the kiss by using her tongue to stroke Ringo's, enticing him to take the next step with her.

His hands stumbled up Celeste's sides and found the bare skin which only became visible when she reached up in her short shirt. He dug roughly into the skin there, eliciting a moan. Ringo's pants were tightening and he knew that Celeste could feel his erection against the crotch area of her jeans. He moaned as she began to grind on him, rolling her head back so his lips could become attached to her neck. It felt amazing for Ringo to be able to finally make Celeste feel good.

"Oh  _ God _ , I..." She took one of his hands in her own and put it to the top of her jeans. "Ritchie, I -"

Without a second thought, he pushed his hand into her jeans and began to fondle her clit over the top of her panties - laced, if Ringo knew his fabric. Celeste moaned more loudly and moved one of her hands to the buttons on his trousers. She popped them open, one by one, and then reached into his trousers for her prize. Delighted to find that Ringo wasn't wearing any underwear, Celeste pulled out her prize. Ringo was still working his fingers against her, though he had slipped into her panties. Celeste could feel herself growing close to an orgasm. She moved away from him, forcing him to take his fingers away from her. Erotically, Ringo slipped them into his mouth and sucked on each digit, keeping eye contact with his girl, who was sinking lower and closer to his aching, pink-tipped cock.

When her tongue darted out between her lips and teased the end of his cock, Ringo moaned loudly and threw his head back against the sofa, glad that he had chosen to use it as support for his back. Her lips were soon around him, and his long length was hitting the back of her throat, which caused Celeste to choke on it a little, but she didn't stop giving him the attention which he had so desperately craved from her. Unintentionally, Ringo bucked his hips and Celeste choked again, though she moaned. Ringo took this as a sign that she liked it, and so he bucked his hips again. This time, she moaned out even louder, so he continued to fuck her mouth, getting more rough as time went on.

After less than three minutes, he found himself growing so close to an orgasm that he had to stop her, knotting his fingers in her hair and pulling her away from his throbbing member. She looked at him. "I did something wrong...?"

Ringo smiled at her and shook his head, chuckling a little at her question before he pressed his lips against Celeste's before he replied, "I want to cum inside you, Lissie."

His words were music to her ears. Celeste, without another word, wriggled out of her jeans and threw them across the room before she laid down on the floor, motioning for Ringo to join her. He did, discarding the rest of his clothes and climbing on top of her. Before he pressed himself inside of her, however, he slipped his fingers under her shirt and pulled it over her head. Ringo wanted to see all of Celeste Thornby - he wanted to make her feel comfortable.

He couldn't help but moan out at the sight of her perky breasts in her bra, which he quickly got rid of, throwing it behind him. For a few moments, Ringo let himself indulge in the beauty of her chest, burying his face in her tits and sucking love bites in her cleavage. Celeste was in Heaven, and she made no efforts to keep her thoughts to herself, though they mainly consisted of 'fuck, Ringo' and 'please, God'.

It was with a final word to God that Ringo pressed himself into Celeste, pushing all the way in before he stopped to make sure she was okay. "Oh,  _ fuck _ ." He whimpered out as he relished in the way her walls felt around him, "so tight, Cel... Jesus Christ." She urged him on, and he began to move, thrusting in and out as fast as he could, which caused their orgasms to build quickly.

After a ninety seconds, Celeste was clawing at his back, and Ringo was fucking her shallowly as they both reached their highs. Ringo sat inside of her for a moment, trying to regain his breath - had any girl ever felt like she did, before? He couldn't remember.

Ringo pulled out and looked at her. "I think we should go to bed." 

She nodded and let him help her up and into the bedroom where they lay down and went to sleep... in each other's arms.

* * * * *

The first thing that Celeste became aware of was that it was morning, and she had a pounding headache - it was perhaps the worst hangover she had ever had.

The second thing she became aware of was that she was naked.

The third thing that she became aware of was that Ringo was in the bed beside her... and he was naked, too.

In shock, she gasped, which caused Ringo to wake up, a smile on his face (despite the raging hangover) as he remembered what had happened between them the night before. "G'morning, Lissie, I -"

"Not another word." She hissed, wrapping the bed sheet around her as she got out of bed and went into the living room to retrieve her clothes and underwear. When she was clothed once more, she gathered Ringo's clothes and went back into the bedroom, throwing them at him.

He looked at her in confusion, cocking his head. "Did something happen, luv?"

"Yes!" She hissed. " _ We  _ happened - and it won't, again. Get dressed, and don't ever mention last night again, alright?"

Ringo sighed. He wanted to talk about the previous night. He wanted it to happen again. He wanted Celeste Thornby to be  _ his _ ... but she did not want that. Ringo nodded. "Okay, Cel."


	13. Chapter 13

** _ 26th July 2019 _ **

Everybody on the tubes had looked at Ringo as they he was an alien, and some people had even stopped him and asked for autographs. At that point, Celeste had stepped in and had told them to clear off. Ringo wished that he'd been able to sign for the people who had asked him; he loved meeting his fans, even back in 1963... providing that they didn't try and rip him and the rest of the lads in half.   
"Don't make eye contact." Celeste told him as she grabbed his hand and pulled him along the platform behind her.   
Ringo didn't mention the fact that they were holding hands - he was too busy enjoying it. "I'm in a band, not a prison."  
"You're in the most famous band in history." Celeste reminded him. "If you're recognised, it might be national news... we don't need that, right?"  
_She had a point_, Ringo thought, though it didn't stop him from trying to autograph the napkin which was shoved under his nose by the next person who asked him for an autograph.

It had taken hours to get to Liverpool, and Celeste wondered if it would have been a better idea to come up the day before and stay in a hotel overnight.   
They had done their best to make Ringo look as though he wasn't himself, but it still wasn't enough. People at _LIPA _still recognised him, and some teased him - "aren't you a little old to be playing dress up, _Ringo_?!"

Celeste sighed and just told Ringo to ignore the people jeering and staring at him as she pulled him through the throng of people and to the front of the crowd, right in front of the barriers where Paul McCartney would be arriving.

The plan was simple; attract Paul's attention and then hope that he saw it was Ringo and wanted to speak with them privately.

Paul quickly arrived, and if Celeste hadn't been able to see his car pull up, she would have known it was him by the screaming of the crowd. _I guess the world never really moved on from 'Beatlemania'_, she thought as Paul got out of the car and began to walk up the red carpet to the doors of _LIPA_, signing autographs and quickly posing for selfies with his fans.  
He was so close to them, so Celeste decided to catch his attention by yelling for him. "Paul! Macca! Paul McCartney!" Every name she had ever heard him be referred to as, she used - well, it worked. Paul came over to her.  
"Wha's it, luv?" He asked her. "You sound like someone's killin' yer!"  
"Paul," Celeste said, ignoring everybody around her who was trying to get his attention. "We have to talk to you. Urgently." She features to Ringo just behind her - he hadn't yet been noticed by Paul.  
Paul saw his friend and his face fell. "Bloody Hell," He said. "You're good, aren't you?"  
Ringo's excitement at seeing Paul again disappeared. "Paul..." Ringo said after a moment. "It's me."  
Paul shook his head. "I spoke to Ringo this morning -"  
"For my twenty-third birthday," Ringo interrupted, "you bought me a book by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I was reading it backstage before we went on at _The Cavern_ that night."  
Paul's eyes widened. Some staff members came up behind him, trying to usher him on. He ignored them.   
"I... I remember that."  
Celeste and Ringo gave Paul a moment to process what he had just learnt. "Paul," Celeste said, causing him to look at her in surprise. It was almost as if he had forgotten that she was there. "We need to talk to you... urgently. Something's happened."  
Paul nodded. "Come with me." He turned to the staff members beside him. "Get them out of there and bring them to my office - right now."  
The staff member looked confused, to say the least, but she nodded. "Y-yes, Mr McCartney."


	14. Chapter 14

Paul disappeared, and Celeste and Ringo were escorted out of the crowd by the staff member who had received the order from Paul, and a colleague of her's. "Gotta be important." She said as she led them upstairs, "Mr McCartney asked for you!"  
"It is." Celeste answered her, looking sideways at Ringo momentarily to make sure that he was okay. _From this angle, you can see the smile on his face from the side_. Celeste mentally slapped herself - _get him out of your head!_

But she couldn't, and that was the simple fact.

"Mr McCartney'll be along shortly." The male staff member said as he stopped outside of a door with Paul's name on it. They opened the door and let Ringo and Celeste inside before walking off.

"You think they recognised me?" Ringo asked as he looked at the girl who he had come to care so much for in such a short time. "The staff?"  
"I think they'd have to be blind not to, Rings." Celeste replied.

"Well you certainly set everyone talking, Ringo." Paul declared as he walked into the room and strode straight over to the chair behind the desk. He sat in it and gestured to the two chairs in front of the desk. Celeste and Ringo sat down. "They're saying a Beatles reunion... but that'd be impossible, right...?" Paul teased, though there was a note of seriousness to his tone.

"We haven't got George and John too, Paul," Ringo answered, "if that's what you're asking."  
Paul was quiet.

"Paul, Ringo time travelled from 7th July 1963, all the way to 7th July 2019 -"

"You mean that you've been _here _since 7th July?!" Paul exclaimed incredulously, interrupting Celeste.

Ringo nodded. "Cel just told you that, didn't she?" He paused. "This is Celeste, by the way." He gestured to the beautiful girl at his side and she gave him a small smile.

"How did you come to be here?"  
"Well, like I said, I was reading the book you got me," Ringo explained, "just after we'd blown out the candles on my cake that Mimi made, and John had gone off to see Cyn and Jules. You went to go find a girl, and George left with you." Ringo paused. "I fell asleep, and when I woke up, Lissie was leaning over me, and I was in 2019."  
"How do I know that you're genuine?"

Ringo thought for a second before saying, "ask me anything."  
Paul thought for a second. "What happened the night that Cynthia Lennon went into labour?"  
Ringo didn't even have to think about his answer - for him, it had been just four months previously. "We were playing in Leyton that night. John got the call and went batshit crazy when Eppy said he couldn't go home and be with Cyn... that he couldn't even be there when his son was born - couldn't go home for a few more days. He punched Eppy in anger, and you had to hold him back. John tried to punch you, and you broke his nose... which was the only thing which calmed him down enough to be reasoned with."

Paul chuckled at the memory. "He was quite a character, wasn't he...? John?"

Ringo nodded. "It's good to see you, Paul."

"You too, Rings... reminds me of my youth - so long ago, now." Paul chuckled. "We've got to get you back before anything changes." Celeste and Ringo nodded in unison, agreeing with what Paul had said. "Sooner rather than later." The two of them nodded again. "Let me go and tell somebody that I'm leaving." He left the room for just a few minutes before coming back. "Let's go."

Paul had a house in London, which he said that he'd stay in until they found a way to send Ringo back to 1963. "So what have you tried?"  
"To get him back?" Paul nodded. "We wanted to try him reading a copy of the same book," Celeste explained, "but we couldn't find a copy anywhere. None on eBay, or Amazon. There was not a single copy in any bookshop we looked in, and none of the shops were sure on when their next delivery was."  
"How odd."  
"Indeed." Ringo agreed. "And my first suggestion was just for me to sleep - thought it might be triggered by that... but it wasn't."  
"Nothing's ever that easy, Ringo."

"That's what I told him!" Celeste exclaimed. "I told you, Ritchie!"  
Paul's driver was driving them back to London, so they were all sitting in the backseat of the car - it was a little uncomfortable, but it was fun nevertheless. Celeste felt honoured to be able to listen to two Beatles reminiscing about the times they had had together - and Paul even told Ringo about some of the things that were to come for the band.

"And Maureen and you will have three children, Ringo!" Paul exclaimed, delivering the last of the news that he had promised to share with his friend that evening.

"_Maureen?_" Ringo asked as if he had never heard the name before.

_His first wife_, Celeste remembered. _Of course! How could I have been so stupid? She's already at home waiting for him! They met in 1962, just days after he joined the band._

Celeste suddenly felt wrong. Ringo had cheated on Maureen with her.

"Your girlfriend, Rings?" Paul teased. "You met her in '62?"

"I know who she is." He sighed. "I just... _forgot _about her."  
"Well damn," Paul answered, "2019 must be better than I thought! For you to completely _forget _Maureen, the love of your life, I -"  
"_Paul_." Ringo said in a warning tone. "Please be quiet." 

"But -"  
"I don't want to hear her name again." Ringo told him firmly.

The three of them were silent.


	15. Chapter 15

Paul knocked on the door to the suite and Ringo answered it, smiling at his friend. "Get here alright?"

Paul shrugged. "A few people asked for photos, but yes." Ringo nodded, but was silent. "You're surprised that we're still popular in the twenty-first century?"

"I didn't think our music would carry over fifty years." Paul chuckled and nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes it still blows my mind... where's Celeste?"

"Still in her room getting ready."

* * * * *

About fifteen minutes later, Celeste emerged from the bedroom. She smiled at Paul. "G'morning, McCartney."

"Thornby." Celeste chuckled.

"You know my name -"  
"I asked at reception." She smiled. _Clever_, she thought. She sat down in the armchair and looked at Paul and Ringo who were sharing the settee. "Tell me then, Rings," Ringo looked at the older man, "what's happening in 1963?"  
"Um..." Ringo trailed off. What _was _happening in 1963? It was such a mundane question, and yet it made Ringo feel uncomfortable. "Well we've recorded _She Loves You _and another song, though I can't remember which... you're dating Jane Asher, though you never seem to have her with you at night and -"

"Don't remind me." Paul chuckled.

"Shall we get this done?" Celeste asked, referring to the pen and paper in her hands and the ideas which they had to write down.

"One moment, Lissie." Ringo waved a ringed hand at her to appease her.

"Julian is three months old and John wishes that he could go home to be with Cyn and Jules."

"He'll grow out of that one quickly." Paul said. Ringo cocked his head, confused. "There's a time when I'm closer to Julian Lennon than John is. I wrote a song about it, 'Hey Jude'."

"Don't tell him too much, Paul." Celeste warned, "it could change history -"

"For the better, surely." Celeste disagreed with Paul, but she didn't say anything else on the subject. "And you?"

"In 1963?" Paul nodded and Ringo thought for a second. "In 1963, I'm doing good - happy, and I'm living life as it was meant to be lived... precariously."  
"Be careful with the drugs, Rings." 

"I didn't say anything about -"

"But I know." Paul interrupted. "I was there, remember...?" Ringo nodded. "And I know the long-term health effects of drugs; so I'm telling you now - be careful."

Ringo took Paul's advice on board, nodding. "Okay... Cel, you alright?"

She was seething. She had her arms crossed against her chest, and a frown on her face. "No!" She exclaimed, "I am not _alright_!"  
"Wha's wrong, luv?" Paul asked, looking at her in shock.

"Ringo," Celeste yelled, ignoring Paul and standing up so she was more intimidating, "you're ignoring me!"  
"Cel, I'm -"

Paul McCartney was silent. "Yes you are! You're talking to Paul now, and you expect me to be alright with it - you were only using me until somebody better came along!"  
In tears, Celeste ran into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

Ringo and Paul turned their heads slowly in unison to look at each other in surprise. "What was that about?" Ringo asked.

Paul sighed. "I have three daughters myself, Ringo, so I know about this kind of stuff."  
"What kind of stuff?"  
"Celeste is hurt because she feels as though you're leaving her out of the conversation." Paul explained.

"But I'm not -"

"I know that... you just miss having your friends around... but Celeste really likes you - as much as she tries to hide it," Paul said, tacking the last part onto the end before Ringo could deny it, "so she's hurt that you're leaving her out - it's making her feel unimportant. She thought that you cared enough to include her in the conversation -"

"But I do!"  
"Well I know that," Paul answered in a tone that implied it was obvious, "but her mind is clouded with feelings and _girl stuff_." Ringo couldn't help but grin at the way Paul had phrased it. "Tell me what's happened between you two."

Ringo bit his lip, unsure if he should share information which Celeste might have thought of as private - and then he decided that he needed Paul's advice, since he had both experience with girls and the experience that came with time.

"We... we slept together." He paused. "And then the next morning, she said that we'd pretend it never happened."

"And you didn't want that?"  
"No." Ringo answered. "Celeste drives me crazy - I'm up most nights thinking of her."

"Does she know how you feel?"

Ringo shook his head. "How could she? If she did, then she might be more considerate of my feelings... right?"

"I'm going to see how she is." Ringo was left feeling confused as Paul left the room and went into Celeste's bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Celeste was sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. He could hear her sobbing, and despite the fact that they'd met the day before, it broke his heart.

"Cel..." he went over and sat beside her on the bed, putting a hand around her and pulling her into his chest. "Why're you crying?"  
She sniffled and then looked up at Paul, "I shouted at him for no good reason!"

"You're frustrated," he concluded, "and I know why..." he paused, "y'know, I've never seen him like this about a girl." She looked at him questioningly but was silent. "I've known Ringo since he was twenty, and he just doesn't change. I've never seen him with a bird the way he is with you."

"What do you mean by that, Paul?" Celeste sniffled again.

Paul gave her a soft smile and wiped the tears away from her cheeks. "Don't think that he's ignoring you, Cel. He's just missed me - he probably feels alone here - he doesn't know a lot and he is learning everyday... you and me are the only two people he's got in 2019. Everybody he knows is fifty years away." Paul paused. "You're special to him, Celeste... we're his past, but you're his future."

Paul and Celeste sat in silence for a moment before she sighed. "I need some time with him... Paul, do you think you could maybe come back tomorrow?"

Paul nodded and got up, leaving the room. She heard him and Ringo talking for a few seconds before the sound of Paul's voice disappeared. Celeste recomposed herself and then took a deep breath. She needed to see Ringo.


	16. Chapter 16

Celeste took another deep breath and opened the door to the bedroom. She saw Ringo sitting on the settee with his head in his hands. She could tell from the way his shoulders were set that he was distraught, stressed and frustrated. Silently, she slipped out of the bedroom and closed the bedroom door behind her. She kept one hand on the doorknob, though stood in front of the now-closed door.

After a moment, Ringo looked up at her - maybe she hadn't been as silent as she'd hoped. "Celeste...?" He sounded like he couldn't believe she was there. Encouraging him, Celeste smiled and nodded in reply. "Look, I'm so sorry, I -"

Faster than she had moved in her life, Celeste Thornby crossed the room and threw herself into his arms. Ringo wrapped himself around her tightly and pulled her closer to him. He looked into her eyes for a split second before she pressed their lips together. Ringo smiled into the kiss. It was all he had wanted since he had first realised that he felt something for her, and now it seemed as though she was finally reciprocating his feelings.

They pulled apart momentarily, almost gasping for breath. Celeste looked into Ringo's blue eyes and felt her heart melt. _So this is what love feels like_, she thought. "No more distance, okay, Ritchie?"

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. With the largest smile that Celeste had ever seen, he nodded and kissed her lips softly once more. "No more distance." They kissed a little more, each time their hearts became more entwined. "So now...?" Ringo trailed off, unsure of how to phrase the question.

Celeste pecked the end of his nose and smiled. "You're mine, Richard Starkey."  
"I love you." Celeste had never been in a relationship before, but she knew that those three words held more meaning than they let on. Strung together, they were serious, and showed how much Ringo cared for her.

Without hesitation, she replied, "I love you."

Ringo smiled. "I'm so glad that we're on the same page at last."

Celeste giggled and buried her face in his neck, stifling her giggles for a few seconds before she couldn't hold out any longer. "I think before we were reading completely different stories."  
Ringo nodded, agreeing with her. "And finally, here we are."  
"Together." 

He nodded again, confirming what she had just said. "Together... as I only want to be, with you."

His words made her smile. Ringo kissed her lips again. "You taste like peaches and cream." It was such an off-the-cuff remark - she hadn't expected him to say something so random. Again, Celeste giggled. Ringo blushed. "D-did I say something wrong?"

"Quite the opposite," she assured him. His blush began to fade. "You're sweet, Ritchie."

"As sweet as you?" He paused. "I doubt it."

"Don't go soft on me now." She slapped his arm playfully, which caused him to giggle.

"Not if I can help it, luv," he promised, "not _ever_."

Celeste gasped, chuckling as she slapped his arm playfully once more. "You're naughty!"  
"Much more interesting than being sweet!" Ringo exclaimed with a smirk on his face. "Want me to show you?"

Celeste giggled. "Maybe later... right now, I just want to kiss you."

"I won't stop you." She lowered her lips down to his once more and moved one leg over his lap so she was straddling him.


	17. Chapter 17

** _ 1st August 2019 _ **

The week continued; Paul visited everyday, and Ringo and Celeste were happier than either of them had ever been. Paul was happy for them too, though he seemed more focused on sending Ringo back to 1963 than either he or Celeste was.  
However, by the third day of their relationship, Paul began to doubt that Ringo would ever want to leave Celeste - he had never seen two people more perfect for each other. He pondered, unsure of how to broach the subject with his friend; "Ringo, I know you've only just got this new girlfriend, but I was wondering if you're going to be okay with leaving her forever while you go back to 1963?" Paul doubted it would go down very well.

"Still no luck?" Celeste asked as she looked between the two men sitting on the settee in front of her. "No ideas?" Paul shook his head. Celeste sighed and crossed the room, sitting herself down on Ringo's lap. Immediately, his arms went around her. He placed a soft kiss to her lips and smiled. "Missed you." She said.

"Missed you too, luv." Ringo replied, "you alright?"

Celeste had been out in London shopping for herself and Ringo whilst he and Paul stayed in the suite and tried to think of a way of getting Ringo home... though that was the last thing he wanted. 

"Yeah," she replied, "you?"

"Peachy." Ringo tapped her bottom and Celeste stood up. "I'm hungry."

"Think you could get us some Chinese food, Cel?" Paul asked, seizing the opportunity to hatch his plan.

"I can get the hotel to order it, yeah -"

"I'd rather you went out to get it, Celeste." In surprise, Celeste looked at Paul.

"_Paul!_" Ringo exclaimed in surprise and horror.

"No, it's okay." Celeste sighed and glared at Paul. "_Of course, Mr McCartney_," she mocked, "_it'd be an honour to go and get your fucking noodles for you _-"

"It's _Sir_," Paul teased. "I'm _Sir Paul McCartney_."

"Oh shove it." Celeste muttered under her breath. Paul heard, but didn't say anything. Ringo heard too, and couldn't hold back a snigger.

Celeste skulked off, purposely not giving Paul a chance to relay his order to her. He would have what he was given. End of.

Paul turned to Ringo, who looked peeved. "Why'd you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Be rude to 'er." Ringo answered. "She's just being nice - you jealous or something?"

"Oh please," Paul answered in a tone that implied Ringo's suggestion was ridiculous and not worth the oxygen he had spent on it, "she's about fifty years younger than me."

"Well why were you so rude then?"  
"I have to ask you a question -"  
"Well we've had all day to ask bloody questions, Paul," Ringo exclaimed, "why now?"

"Because we have to sort this out _now_." Paul paused. "How do you truly feel about Celeste, Ringo?"

"What kind of a question is that?"

"A valid one." The older Beatle answered. "I need to know."  
"Wha's it to you?"

Paul pursed his lips together and swept a hand through his grey hair before he replied, "answer the question, Ringo."

Ringo sighed. "Celeste... Paul, do I have to tell you? It's kind of... _personal_."  
"Nothing is personal when we're in this deep, Ringo."

Ringo sighed again. "Okay, um... Celeste is someone different - I've never met anybody who can make me feel like Celeste can. When I'm with her, it's like... like there's no one else in the world. It's like it's just us. She makes me smile, even when she doesn't mean to. She makes me laugh... and she doesn't even have to do anything."

"But how do you _feel _about her?" Paul asked.

"Well I just told you -"

"Do you _love _her?"

Ringo was silent for a second before nodding. "Yeah... more than I thought was possible." He paused. "I'm truly in love with Celeste Thornby, and..."

"And what?" The older Beatle raised an eyebrow. "Keep going."

"And I can't stand the thought of being without her... I don't want to go back to 1963 without her, Paul, but I know she won't come -"

"Have you asked her?"

"About 1963?" Paul nodded. "No." Ringo answered. "I haven't - but I just know, I -"  
"You said she hasn't spoken to her family in almost a month?"  
"Not that I know of." Ringo answered. "Apparently they haven't even sent her a message -"

"A text." Paul corrected.  
"One of those." Ringo agreed. "But apparently they haven't even sent her one."

"Maybe she _would _go with you, then."

"How'd you get that idea?" The drummer asked.

"Well if she hasn't even heard from her family in almost a month, then she might be more inclined to go with you - she obviously isn't close to anybody in 2019, so why wouldn't she go with you - Ringo Starr, the man she loves -"

"She said that?" Ringo asked in surprise and disbelief.

Paul bit his lip. "Y-yeah..." She hadn't, and Paul knew it.

"You really think she'd come?"

"I think there'd be no harm in asking."

"Unless she says no -"

"Which she won't." Paul paused. "Why would she? She loves you, and you love her. You two could be really happy -"

"What if we go back to 1963 and we don't work out?"  
"I've seen you two together, Rings," Paul answered, "and I think that's a very big 'what if', don't you?"

Ringo thought for a second, biting the corner of his bottom lip before he nodded slowly. "Y-yeah... you're right, Paulie..." he paused, "I'm going to ask her."

Paul grinned. "Good."


	18. Chapter 18

Celeste arrived with their food an hour later, and she glared at Paul as she got the food out of its containers and served it to the men, putting herself a small portion aside for later. "There you go, _Sir _Paul." She said, handing him his plate.

"Why thank you -" Ringo elbowed him. Paul glared at Ringo but then turned back to Celeste. He gave her a smile. "Thank you for taking the time to plate up this delicious meal for me, _Miss _Celeste." Another jab in the ribs from Ringo and Paul added, "and I'm sorry about earlier."

Celeste smiled at him. "All is forgiven, Paulie."

They ate their food and chatted, sharing new ideas on how to get back to 1963. All the while, Ringo was nervous - he knew he had a massive, life changing question to ask Celeste - and he didn't know what her reaction would be.

"Right." Paul said, rising from the settee and smiling at the two of his friends, "I'm going to go - see you tomorrow?"

Ringo and Celeste nodded in unison, "yeah." Ringo said.

"See you tomorrow, Paul." Celeste agreed. "Safe drive home."

"Bye-bye." He left the suite. 

Celeste turned to Ringo. "I'm quite tired tonight, Ritchie... mind if we just cuddle?"

"Not at all." He didn't. As long as he was with Celeste, Ringo was happy. He stood up and held out his hand. Celeste smiled as she took it, letting him lead her into the bedroom.

By that point, they had seen all of each other's bodies, but nevertheless, they still gave each other their privacy; Ringo went to get changed into his pyjamas (okay, it was just a pair of boxers) in the bathroom, and Celeste changed in the bedroom (just one of Ringo's shirts and a pair of shorts). They got back in bed beside each other and Ringo pulled Celeste into his arms, kissing the side of her head softly.

"I'm going to miss you when you go." Celeste said slowly and quietly, lacing her hand with one of Ringo's and watching as their fingers connected in the dim darkness.

Ringo was silent for a few seconds before he whispered, "maybe I don't have to go."

"You do." She sighed. "The world wouldn't be what it is without _The Beatles_, and you're _Ringo Starr_. I can't take you away from the world." She paused. "You belong in 1963."

"I belong with you." He answered firmly, though in a sweet tone of voice. Celeste turned in his arms and looked into his eyes, barely visible in the light that was provided by whatever managed to get through the curtains. 

"What're you saying, Ringo?" She could hardly manage to think about what he was trying to infer.

"I want you to come back with me."  
"To 1963?" Ringo nodded. Celeste was silent.

"You're not supposed to be here, Lissie," he spoke, trying to convince her, "your family and friends -"

"_Friend_." She was still bitter about Edda not having gotten back to her.

"They still haven't messaged you - they don't care about you like I do, Lissie. I care so much - I want you to be by my side... and you insist that I belong in the past... well then, so do _you_."

Celeste's breath caught in her throat. What could she say to that? She wanted to be with Ringo, of course... but leave 2019?  
"Ringo, I..." she trailed off. Did she let him down, or did she give him perhaps false hope?

"You don't have to give me an answer now." Ringo said quickly, "but I really want you to think about what I'm asking, Lissie... please...?"

She nodded. "I'll think about it."

Ringo pecked her forehead and she smiled. "That's all I ask, luv."


	19. Chapter 19

It was with a smile on his face and a happy heart that Ringo arose the next morning with the plan to order him and Celeste breakfast from room service. He went to the phone in the living room, making sure to close the bedroom door behind him so the noise he was making wouldn't disturb his perfect girl.

Celeste was awake, however. She had been awake for a few hours, actually. She was busy thinking about the decision she had ahead of her. Ringo was asking a lot of her, and they both knew that... but he had a point.

Her family hadn't sent her a text since her birthday, and Edda _still _hadn't gotten back to her. Celeste knew what she wanted, of course - she wanted to be with Ringo, whether that was in 1963 or 2019. In a last ditch attempt at caring for her family, she checked her phone.

_If I've got one message from any of them, then I will stay_.

She had no notifications.

Celeste sighed as she rolled over and buried her head in Ringo's pillow. She liked it - it smelt of him, and made her feel safe and at home. _I guess we know what that means then... 1963, here I come_.

But going back in time with somebody was a big commitment to make, and there was no guarantee that it would work out. What if she couldn't get back to 2019 after she went back?  
  
_Ringo looked at Celeste and smiled. "I like how that looks on you." It was a simple black and white dress that he had bought for her just a few days before._

_"You look nice, mum." Celeste turned and saw their two daughters, Lisa and Maisie. It was Lisa, the eldest, who had spoken. _

_"Thank you, dear," Celeste answered. "Aren't you going to go and put something a bit nicer on? Dad's taking us out tonight -"_

_"To celebrate tour." Ringo finished, slipping an arm around his wife's waist and pulling her closer to him. He kissed her cheek and she smiled. "Go and put something on nice, girls."_

_The two girls did as they were told and rushed off. "Are the boys joining us tonight?" Celeste asked._

_"Paul's bringing Jane, and Lottie. John, Cynthia, George and Pattie are out of the country right now, so they won't be there." He paused. "Don't mention Jane's... condition."_

_"Condition?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is she alright?"_

_"She's pregnant again," Ringo explained, "but Paul says that she doesn't like to know about it - he says he has to fight with her to attend the doctor's appointments sometimes."_

_"They take it for granted." Ringo nodded slowly in agreement. "We'd love more kids but can't have them, whereas Jane gets pregnant at the drop of a hat -"_

_"I know, Lissie," her husband agreed, "it's unfortunate - just be happy for them, yeah?"_

"I got you breakfast, Lissie." Ringo kissed her awake and she smiled, moving her head from Ringo's pillow. She must have fallen asleep. Her dream had been odd; but the memory of it put a smile on Celeste's face. "You alright?"

Celeste, ignoring the plate in one of Ringo's hands and the mug of tea in the other, put her arms around his neck and pressed their lips firmly together. "I can't wait to go to 1963 with you."

Ringo's face lit up and he grinned like a kid on Christmas day. "Really...?" She nodded. "Yes!" Celeste chuckled at his outburst, and kissed him again. He handed her the mug and plate and then looked at her again. "You're sure...?"

"More than I've ever been, yes."

She ate a little of the food before she looked at Ringo again. "Are you going to make me breakfast in 1963, or are you always going to rely on room service?" Celeste teased.  
Ringo blushed and opened his mouth in surprise. He was still smiling somehow. "I think I'll miss 2019." He said in reply. "It brought you, my love." Ringo took her into his arms and enjoyed the feeling of butterflies in his stomach.

Celeste meanwhile, froze. _Is that his way of saying that he loves me?_

Ringo kissed her passionately, and Celeste didn't move. Ringo pulled away from her, a concerned look on his face as he made sure that she was alright.

"I really wanna touch you right now..." He whispered into her ear, his lips grazing the soft skin of her lobe. Shivers ran down Celeste's spine and she giggled.

"Isn't Paul coming over soon...?"

Ringo smirked. He looked like a naughty school boy. "We'll be quick."


	20. Chapter 20

Sure enough, Paul arrived just a few moments after they had both finished. Ringo and Celeste were lying in each other's arms when they heard the now-familiar knock on the door. Celeste sighed and looked up at Ringo from the spot on his chest where her head had been resting. "Paul's here."  
Ringo nodded in agreement. "Yes... I suppose I'll have to get the door?"

Celeste smiled at him. "Unless you want me to answer it like this," she gestured to her naked body, "then yes. I think you might."

Ringo pretended to be covering her, wrapping his arms around her slightly thicker body again and pulling her on top of him. "I am the _only _one who gets to see you like this."

"Promise." Celeste giggled and pecked his nose, now becoming annoyed by the incessant knocking. "Fucking McCartney, I swear... answer the door, Ritchie."

She rolled off of him and he got out of bed, making sure to recover Celeste with the blanket. Ringo pulled on his underwear, a shirt, and a pair of trousers before leaving Celeste to get changed whilst he went to answer the door. 

"Morning, Macca." Ringo said as he smiled at his friend, who looked less-than impressed to have been waiting in the hotel hallway for so long.

"Morning." Paul answered after a moment. Ringo let him into the suite and went over to the coffee pot which had been brought up by room service. He made his friend a cup of black coffee and handed it to him. "Tah... where's Cel?"

"She's uh..." Ringo blushed, though he wasn't quite sure why, "still getting dressed."  
Paul narrowed his eyes at Ringo and grinned, chuckling. "A busy morning...?" he teased. Ringo nodded slowly and blushed a deeper red.

"Don't mention it round Cel... I don't want her to get embarrassed."

Paul nodded in understanding and made a cross with one finger over his heart. "Scouts honour, I swear."  
A few minutes later, Celeste left the bedroom and greeted Paul. "Sleep well?" 

Paul nodded. "Very. My wife is quite suspicious of me right now - it's not often I spend so much time out of the house - especially without telling her where I've been or what I've been doing."

"Oh dear," Celeste said as she was handed a fresh cup of tea by Ringo, who sat down beside her. "I do hope we're not causing any problems for you, Paul."  
"Nancy doesn't know when enough is enough." The older Beatle replied. "She'll get over it - I'm not going to tell her."

Celeste and Ringo gave him a small smile before Celeste gasped. "We should tell him!"

"Tell me what?" Paul asked, feigning ignorance - he had a _faint _idea as to what Celeste was referring to.

"Oh! You tell him, Rings!"

Ringo chuckled at Celeste's outburst and excitement. He entwined his hand with her free one and looked at Paul. "Celeste and me are going back to 1963 _together_."  
Paul grinned. "I'm happy for you both - I'm sure that you'll be happy there, Celeste."

Celeste turned her head and looked at Ringo adoringly. "As long as I'm with Ritchie, I know I will be."

They drank their hot beverages in silence for a few more minutes before Paul said, "I think I've got another idea..." they looked at him, now so desperate to return to 1963 together. "On your birthdays, did you do anything the same?" Ringo and Celeste looked at each other in confusion. "I mean; for example, did you both receive the same present?"

"I didn't get a chance to open any presents." Celeste answered.

"Same flavoured cake?"

"I don't like chocolate cake." Celeste replied.

"It's my favourite." Ringo said.  
"I know," Celeste said in return, "it sort of pissed me off, actually - my mum had a chocolate birthday cake _for you _and she knew I didn't like chocolate."

Ringo smiled encouragingly at her and rubbed her back a few times before he spoke, "you don't have to be runner-up to me now..." he paused, "you'll always be my number one."

Celeste smiled adoringly at him. "Disgusting." Paul teased, capturing the couple's attention. "Can you think of anything else that you might have done the same?" Ringo and Celeste thought for a second before they shook their heads. Paul sighed. "Well think, because this might be our best shot - I feel like we've tried everything else."

Celeste nodded in agreement. "And Ringo needs to get back before anything changes... have you noticed anything yet, Paul?"

"Anything different?" Celeste nodded. "No, but we don't know how time is passing back in 1963 - for all we know, it might have been a few seconds from back then that he's been gone -"

"But it's been almost a month -"  
"_For us_." The older Beatle corrected. "But it might be different - we don't know."  
Celeste sighed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right... we'll keep thinking, okay?"


	21. Chapter 21

The day passed quickly and it was soon time for Paul to go home. He kissed Celeste's forehead and then waved at Ringo before leaving the hotel suite. 

"Wanna watch some TV?" Ringo asked, looking at the beautiful girl on the other side of the settee.

Celeste nodded and crawled closer to him, lifting his arm up with her own and putting it back down over her body as she laid in Ringo's lap. Ringo reached for the remote and pressed the standby button. The screen on the wall in front of them came to life. "It's a Bond movie," Celeste surmised. 

"As in _James Bond_?" Celeste nodded. "I love those films!"  
"You've seen them?" Celeste asked in surprise. 

Ringo nodded. "_Dr. No _and _From Russia With Love_ are out! The third one comes out next year, but I can't remember what it's called." He paused. "Or at least, it comes out in 1964."

"I didn't know Bond was that old," she teased.

Ringo pouted, pretending to be upset. "They're younger than I am, Cel!"

Celeste giggled. "I know, I know... guess that makes you an old man too, doesn't it?"

"As old as Paul?"

"I thought you were older than Paul?" Ringo gasped, once more pretending to be upset. He poked her nose and she giggled. 

"Careful you," he warned. "Or no kisses tonight!"  
Celeste gasped. "You wouldn't!"

He grinned. "Oh, but I would, luv." Contrary to what he had just said, however, Ringo leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to Celeste's lips. She kissed him back. The kiss was filled with desire, and they both smiled as their lips moved in sync.

_So this is what true love feels like_, Celeste thought as a thought came to her mind. Slowly, she pulled away and settled her head back in Ringo's lap. He looked at her, concern written across his face and features.

_I wish for my true love._

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

"Ritchie..." Celeste trailed off, "you said that John's aunt Mimi made you a cake for your birthday?"

"Yes."

"Was their candles on the cake?" Ringo thought for a second and then nodded. "Did you make a wish?" He nodded again. "What did you wish for?"

"What has this got to do with anything?" Ringo asked her softly, running his fingers through her dark hair, "I just want to kiss you, I -"

"Paul asked us if we did anything the same as each other on our birthdays, right?" Ringo nodded. "Well I want to know what you wished for - maybe our wishes were the same."

"But I'm afraid that you'll laugh."  
"I wouldn't." She promised. "Not at you, Ritchie."

"But -"  
"Why don't we say our wishes out loud _together_?" She suggested. "That way, it's out in the open for both of us."

Ringo took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yes... okay then."

"On the count of three." Ringo bit his lip, nodding. "1...2...3..."

"I wish for my true love."

They stared at each other, incredulous. They had said the same six words. "Oh my God..." Ringo trailed off.

"We have to get Paul back over here." Celeste stated as she got up and went over to her phone, ringing Paul.

* * * * *

He arrived less than fifteen minutes later looking dishevelled. "You two alright?" He asked by way of greeting as soon as Celeste had answered the door to him. She nodded and gestured for him to follow her into the lounge, where Ringo was sitting, looking stunned. Apparently, she hadn't told him much about why he had been asked to come back when she had spoken to him on the phone. "Wha's this about then?" He asked, sitting down in the armchair and looking between the two of them.

"We think we know how Ringo got here." Celeste told Paul.

"This couldn't have waited until the morning?" Paul asked.

"No." They chorused.

"We're hoping to go back tomorrow, Paul." Ringo looked at Celeste in surprise. They hadn't discussed that last part. Ringo was, of course, ready to go back to his own time... but _tomorrow_? It was so soon.

The older Beatle nodded. "Well... alright then. How'd you think it happened?"  
"We made the same birthday wish," Ringo explained.

"We both wished for our true love."

"So you think that if you wish -"  
"I think if we wish to go back to 1963 together, then it might happen." Celeste explained.  
"Have you tried it?"

"We need candles." Celeste answered. "It was a _birthday _wish - we need _birthday _candles."  
Paul nodded. "We'll try it tomorrow."

"Stay here tonight, Paul," Ringo offered. "You can take the settee. It's too late to drive home now -"

"But my driver -"

"Will be more than happy, I'm sure, to get to sleep in _The Ritz _for the night." Ringo finished. "We'll go and get him a room, you tell him that he'll be staying here tonight."


	22. Chapter 22

Ringo was the first to wake up the next morning. A smile was on his face as he remembered what they had discovered last night, and what today would (hopefully) bring. He was going home today. And Celeste was going with him. He looked down at Celeste, who was still asleep beside him. She looked perfect when she was asleep - well, Ringo thought that she looked perfect all the time, but he thought that she looked _special _when she was asleep... there was just something about her.

Maybe it was the way her lips were curved up into a slight smile, or how her hair was sprawled out across the pillow, or how she was in Ringo's arms, and seemed content to stay there for however long she was able to.

_I'm so lucky_, Ringo thought as he leant down and kissed her lips softly. _Such a beautiful girl, and she's all for me_. He couldn't believe it.

He had no idea what time it was, but nevertheless, Ringo got up (taking care not to wake Celeste) and went into the lounge area. Paul was sitting up on the settee and was watching the news on a low volume.

"Morning." Paul said, glancing momentarily at his friends before he turned his attention back to the TV.

"Hey, Paulie," Ringo answered, sitting down beside his friend. "Did you sleep well?"

Paul nodded and then shrugged. "Had better nights - I don't miss sleeping on settees." Ringo looked at him in confusion. "Sometimes I forget that you don't know what the future holds for you... for _us_." He paused. "We're going to spend a _lot _of nights sleeping on settees and sofas... just one of the many glamourous highs of being stars, I suppose."  
Ringo chuckled quietly. "Where are candles sold, Paul?"

"As in birthday candles?" Ringo nodded, assuming that that much was obvious, and unsure as to why Paul had even had to ask that question after the conversation they had had the previous night. "Most places - Tesco Express, just down the road, would definitely have them."

"What's a Tesco Express?" The younger Beatle asked.

"Like a shop that sells everything, but it's smaller than the larger superstores." Paul paused. "I think there was one in Liddypool - don't you remember?"  
Ringo shrugged. "I don't remember a lot... seems the longer I spend here, the more I forget."

Paul nodded in understanding. "In that case, I think we need to get you back - do you need my driver to take you?"

Ringo shook his head, holding up a hand to stop Paul from making the call from his phone for his driver. "Just down the road, right?" Paul nodded. "See you in a bit."

Ringo was wearing the previous day's clothes, but if he was just going down the road, then it ought to be alright, right?

About ten minutes after Ringo had left, Celeste came out of the bedroom, rubbing her eyes. "Morning, Paulie," she said, "sleep well?"  
"I've slept better, Cel." Paul answered. "You?"

She nodded, smiling a little. "Nothing's better than sleeping with someone beside you."  
Paul chuckled. "I know what you mean, luv... Ringo's just popped out for the candles -"  
"He _what_?" She exclaimed in disbelief. "Where? When?"

"Just to Tesco down the road - left a few minutes ago... he'll be fine -"  
"What if somebody recognises him?!" She exclaimed, shouting from the bedroom because she was throwing on some clean clothes so she could go and get Ringo.

"Then he'll lie!" Paul answered. "He's not stupid, Cel - he knows the lies we've told already, so he'll just follow the stories -"  
"But -"

"He'll be back soon." Paul went into the bedroom and put a hand on either of her shoulders, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Ringo will be fine, okay? Stop worrying about him. I know that you want him to not bring attention to himself, you or me, but he's an adult, and he can cope."

She took a few deep breaths and nodded. "You're right, Paulie... thanks -"

There was a knock at the door of the suite. "That'll be him back now - quick, huh?"

Paul went to answer the door to the suite.

"Ringo!" Celeste exclaimed as soon as Ringo walked into the living room, a single Tesco bag in hand. She crossed the room quickly and put her arms around him. "Are you alright?"  
"Fine," he answered, "is there a reason why I wouldn't be?"  
"No..." Celeste trailed off, "I just didn't know you were going by yourself, and I thought you might attract some attention -"  
"Didn't even get one look." Ringo promised her. "I got the candles." He reached into the bag he was holding and pulled out a pack of ten birthday candles, holding them up for her to see. "They alright?"  
She looked at them momentarily before nodding. "I don't see why they wouldn't be - did you get anything else?"

Ringo smirked and reached into the bag. "I got you this." He held up a pale pink notebook which had one word written across it in gold glitter lettering; _Celeste_.

She took it from him, smiling. "It's beautiful... you got this from Tesco?"

"Celeste means 'heavenly'," he explained, "they had a load of other weird words too."

Celeste teased, "you think my name is weird?"  
"Never!" Ringo promised, kissing her lips. Paul looked away, pretending to be busy with a magazine on the side table beside the sofa, so he could give them some mock-privacy. Celeste laughed against his lips.

"Right!" Paul said after a moment, "let's try this out, then." He took the candles from Ringo's fingers and opened the box, taking two out and handing one to both Celeste and Ringo. "Hold onto each other, and make sure you say your wish loudly and clearly, I guess." He paused. "I'll miss you two."

"You'll see us again soon, Macca." Ringo teased.

"Yes," he agreed slowly, "but I won't be... _me_." He paused again. "I can't believe that I have to wait almost fifty years to talk to you about this."  
"It'll be a long time, Paul." Celeste agreed. "But one day we'll talk about it."

"See you both." Paul reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. Celeste and Ringo linked their arms together and held out their candles to Paul. Celeste was still holding the notebook that Ringo had bought for her. 

Paul lit either of their candles and took a step back. Ringo and Celeste looked at each other for a second before they nodded, their cue. In unison, they said, "I wish to be back in 1963 with my true love." They blew out their candles.

Paul blinked, and they were gone. Two blown out candles fell to the carpet where Celeste and Ringo had been standing.


	23. Chapter 23

** _ 7th July 1963 _ **

Ringo woke up and turned, his book falling to the floor. Celeste was beside him, against the back of the sofa, and she looked to be still asleep. Ringo looked around him and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face - he was home.

Or, as home as he could be backstage before a show.

"Cel?" He nudged her gently. "Celeste?"

She stirred and looked at him. "Did we...?"

"We did." He agreed, gesturing to the room around them. "We're in 1963."  
"Oh my God." Celeste said. Ringo nodded in agreement, sitting up.

"We need to get changed before anybody sees us. I reckon that John, George and Paul will be 'long soon."

"You already sound different." She teased.

"I do?" Ringo asked in surprise. Celeste nodded. "How?"

"More like a boy from Liverpool, I suppose." She answered. "Different from 2019 Ringo Starr."

Ringo looked around the room until he came across some outfits. He handed them to her and she chose the best looking one she could find. Ringo did the same, and they got changed. "Let's go find the boys -"

They didn't have to. John and Paul walked into the room together, and George followed just a few seconds later.

"Blimey!" John exclaimed in surprise, a naughty grin on his face, "Ringo got 'imself a bird!"  
"Ay Ringo!" Paul cheered, clapping his hands together.

Celeste blushed. Ringo noticed. "Shuddup, ya idiots." He laced his hand with Celeste's. "This is Celeste."

"Nice ter meet yer." George smiled at her.

"You too." Celeste answered.

"This is George, John and Paul." Ringo knew that his girl knew which of _The Beatles _was which, but he wanted their story to be believable to the guys anyway.

"Bloody Hell, Rings," John said in reply, "where'd you find a girl that looks _this _good?" He eyed Celeste up and down.

"I have a name, John Lennon," Celeste quipped. "It's Celeste Thornby, and you'll do well to remember it."

Paul chuckled and John looked impressed. "I like her." He said. "But I still don't know how you managed to find a girl - you were asleep for the entire time!"  
"Leave it out, Lennon." Paul answered for Ringo.

George laughed. Celeste let go of Ringo and launched herself across the room, hugging Paul tightly. "You're so young!"  
"Um..." he blushed, pulling away from her a little. "Thanks, luv...?" He looked at Ringo. _Wha's she on about? Boy, Ringo, you sure do know how to pick 'em_.

"Right!" John exclaimed as they heard a bell ringing through the backstage area, "we got a show to do!"  
He turned and walked out of the room. George, Paul, Ringo and Celeste followed him.

Celeste stood in the wings of the stage whilst the boys went on. She caught Ringo looking at her more than once through their set, and she loved the attention. Ringo was smirking at her everytime, and just as their first song came to an end, he mouthed "later" at her.

Celeste nodded and couldn't help but giggle. She nodded. "For sure." She mouthed in reply.


	24. Chapter 24

** Celeste Starkey **

**Celeste** **Starkey **(born **Celeste Thornby**; 7 July 1941) was a hairdresser from London, England, best known as the wife of Ringo Starr, drummer. When she was a trainee hairdresser in London, she met Starr whilst she was on holiday in Liverpool, at _The Cavern Club _where_ The Beatles_ were playing. Starr proposed marriage at the Ad-Lib Club in London, on 20 January 1965, whilst visiting her. They married at the Register Office, London, in 1965 and have shared a happy marriage since then.

First living at 34 Montagu Square, the Starrs bought Sunny Heights, in St. George's Hill, Weybridge. In 1973, they bought Tittenhurst Park from John Lennon. They had three children together: son William Richard Starkey (born February 1964) and daughters; Louisa Pauline Starkey (named after Paul McCartney, born November 1972) and Lydia Lennon Starkey (born December 1980, born just a week after John Lennon was assassinated).


End file.
